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MODULE #: 13�COMMERCIAL POULTRY INDUSTRY�Eggs

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HOW DO YOU LIKE YOUR EGGS?

Fried

Sunnyside up
Over easy / Over hard
Basted

Scrambled
Poached
Boiled
Omelet
Baked

Eggs are a highly nutritious protein source that can be an important part of any diet.

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NUTRITION

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The one thing that limited development of the egg industry early was the cholesterol fear.

From the American Egg Board:

More than 40 Years of Research Supports the Role of Eggs in a Healthy Diet

Many Americans have shied away from eggs – despite their taste, value, convenience and nutrition – for fear of dietary cholesterol. However, more than 40 years of research have demonstrated that healthy adults can enjoy eggs without significantly impacting their risk of heart disease. In fact, research has shown that saturated fat may be more likely to raise a person’s serum cholesterol than dietary cholesterol.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) nutrition data, eggs are lower in cholesterol than previously recorded. The USDA recently reviewed the nutrient composition of standard large eggs and results show the average amount of cholesterol in one large egg is 185 mg, down from 215 mg, a 14 percent decrease. The analysis also revealed that large eggs now contain 41 IU of Vitamin D, an increase of 64 percent.

Enjoying an egg a day can fall within current cholesterol guidelines, particularly if people opt for other low-cholesterol foods throughout the day. If you are concerned about dietary cholesterol you could choose to eat one whole egg plus two egg whites for a fulfilling meal to start the day. Nearly half of the protein and most of the vitamins and minerals are contained in the yolk so don’t skip the yolk altogether!

Several international health promotion organizations – including Health Canada, the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation, the Australian Heart Foundation and the Irish Heart Foundation – promote eggs as part of a heart-healthy diet, recognizing that they make important nutritional contributions.

Featured article in the Spring 2017 Issue of Nutrition Close-Up; written by Lynn Cofer-Chase, MSN, CLS, FAHA, FPCNA, FNLA

It is well-known that high cholesterol levels in our blood, particularly high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (i.e., the “bad” cholesterol) levels, increase our risk for heart disease, bypass surgery, etc. And it seems logical that eating animal foods that have atypically high amounts of cholesterol, such as egg yolks and organ meats, would worsen blood cholesterol levels thereby increasing our risk for heart attack.

Based on that assumption, back in 1961, American Heart Association (AHA) experts recommended that adults “should reduce intake of cholesterol”. By 1968, they set a 300 mg per day limit for patients known to have high cholesterol blood levels. In 2001, the National Cholesterol Education Program guidelines recommended that patients at high risk limit cholesterol intake to less than 200mg/day.

Although heart disease hasn’t changed, dietary recommendations related to the intake of dietary cholesterol have recently changed drastically from those in the past. Current recommendations are now based on science rather than assumption. Studies were designed to see if this logical assumption was indeed true. One study, called the Harvard Egg Study, was specifically designed to see if dietary cholesterol actually increased the risk of cardiovascular disease. Although there was a slight trend for blood cholesterol levels to increase with increased intake of dietary cholesterol, it was modest and appeared to vary from person to person. Results led authors to conclude that “the earlier purported adverse relationship between dietary cholesterol and heart disease risk was likely largely over-exaggerated.”

By 2013, the American College of Cardiology (ACC) teamed up with experts from the AHA and agreed that recommendations should be based on evidence provided by scientific trial data. Hence, they decided to define levels of evidence for each and every recommendation. If no sufficient scientific study evidence was available, they would not formulate a recommendation. This led to the statement in the 2013 ACC/AHA Guidelines on Lifestyle Management to Reduce Cardiovascular Risk that “There is insufficient evidence to determine whether lowering dietary cholesterol reduces LDL-C”.

The 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee could not find cause to state a quantitative limit on dietary cholesterol intake. Their report stated that “more research is needed regarding a dose response relationship between dietary cholesterol and blood cholesterol levels.” Therefore, the 2015- 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans dropped the previous recommendation to limit dietary cholesterol intake to 300 mg per day. The National Lipid Association’s (NLA) review of the scientific literature revealed only “modest effects” of dietary cholesterol on cholesterol levels.The NLA report included information from a controlled feeding study stating that “each 100 mg/day of dietary cholesterol raised LDL-C by an average of about 1.9 mg/dL.” Additionally “no association between dietary cholesterol or egg consumption (a large contributor to dietary cholesterol intake) and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk in the general population” was found.

So does all this mean that if we eat 3 eggs per day like Emma Morano, who began doing so in childhood, we’ll also celebrate our 117th birthday? No. But, can we let go of our fear that eating eggs will increase our cholesterol levels and heart attack risk? That does appear to be the case. A meta-analysis recently published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition suggests eating one egg a day reduces risk of stroke by 12 percent and does not affect risk for coronary heart disease. Authors went on to say that “Eggs are a relatively low cost and nutrient-dense whole food that provides a valuable source of protein, essential fatty acids, antioxidants, vitamins & minerals.” Enjoy that egg now…to your heart’s content!

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Cholesterol down from 215 previously recorded (14% decrease)��Vitamin D up to 41 IU (65% increase)

NUTRIENT CONTENT

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U.S. EGG INDUSTRY

Mid 1970’s – 10,000 egg farmers in U.S. (est.)
1987 – 2,500 egg farmers
2016 – 175 commercial egg companies represent 99% of all eggs produced in the U.S.

60 companies with more than one million layers
These companies represent approximately�255 million layers or 89% of egg production
17 companies with more than 5 million layers

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U.S. EGG INDUSTRY

305 million layers in U.S.

Average size farm around 1.5 million layers

Some farms with more than 6 million layers

90% of eggs still produced in cages

5.5% traditional cage-free
4.5% organic

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The developed egg laying strains used commercially can lay white or brown shelled eggs, depending on the strain. For the commercial strains, the ones with white feathers and white ear lobes lay white shelled eggs and those with red feathers and red ear lobes lay brown shelled eggs.

There is no difference in the nutritional value of brown versus white shelled eggs. So why do they cost more? Some of it is because they can get more for the brown eggs because consumers think they are better, so they charge it. But the brown shelled eggs can cost a little more to produce because of the larger size of the chicken requiring more feed per egg produced.

The strains of chickens that are used commercially for white egg production are based originally on the single comb white leghorn.

Those strains used for brown egg production are based originally on breeds such as Rhode Island Reds.

For both strains, the hens are light weight and very productive. Because of the small body weight they are very feed efficient.

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Source: www.hyline.com

This is a typical egg production curve. In this case it is for a Hyline W36, a common strain of laying hens in commercial egg production.

The flock will come into production quickly, peak and then slowly reduce egg production.

Hen-day egg production takes into account mortality. It is the number of eggs each day over the number of hens alive that day.

Discussion topic: If you have to provide the same amount of eggs every week of the year, how can you make sure that you have enough eggs?

Maintain more than one egg production flock of different ages so that they are in different stages of egg production. You typically need at least two flocks, typically 6 months difference in age.

When a flock reaches 90 weeks of age it is either terminated and replaced or put through an induced molt. The molt gives the flock a rest and the birds return to pullet-like nature physically and then can be re-stimulated to come back into production. They won’t peak as high as the first go around and the second cycle will not last as long.

The size of the egg increases over time as well. While the contents of the egg increase, the amount of shell does not, so the same amount of shell has to cover a larger surface area. The result is weaker shells as the hens get older.

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UNTRIMMED

TRIMMED

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DIFFERENT KINDS OF EGGS

Cage-free
Enriched Colony
Free-roaming
Free-range
Organic
Omega-3 enriched
Pasture-raised
Vegetarian

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Enriched Colony

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CAGE-FREE / FREE-ROAMING

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AVIARY /�CAGE-FREE / FREE-ROAMING

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FREE RANGE

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PASTURE RAISED

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CAGE FREE PRODUCTION IN THE US

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CAGE-FREE PRODUCTION IN THE US

Many restaurants, grocers, food distribution companies, food manufacturers, and hospitality/travel industry companies have made announcements to only use cage-free eggs.

These announcements represent 49.8 billion eggs annually.

184.3 million hens will be needed, which is 63.9% of current flock.

This does not include companies that have yet to make announcements to move cage-free.

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Conventional Caged Egg Production

Around $15/hen

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Enriched Colony Egg Production

Around $25/hen

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Cage-Free Egg Production

Minimum of $40/hen