Have you guys heard of pasteurized shell eggs? To me this is the first time I have heard of pasteurized shell eggs and it keeps me wondering on the technology of pasteurization without actually cooking the egg during this process? Frog and I were invited to N & N agriculture to understand more on pasteurized shell eggs process and the beneficial of consuming pasteurized eggs. This is our first visit to an egg farm and we are actually quite excited about the trip.
Egg Story ( N & N agriculture ) is the first and only farm in Singapore to provide pasteurized fresh eggs. I guess most of us have a lot of questions on our mind. What is pasteurization? Does pasteurization alter the taste of the egg? What is the benefits of consuming pasteurized eggs? Are these eggs expensive? I am glad that we had attended the farm tour and had an insightful information on pasteurization process.
What is Pasteurization?
It is a process of heating food, which is usually a liquid to a specific temperature for a predefined length of time and then immediately cooling it after it is removed from the heat. This process slows spoilage caused by microbial growth in the food.
Why Pasteurization of Shell Eggs?
To kill salmonella and Avian Influenza ( Bird Flu ) virus if present inside and outside the eggs.
Benefits of comsuming Pasteurized Eggs?
Pasteurization process does not alter the farm fresh flavour and egg nutrients. The taste of the egg still remain the same. The most important is that it provide additional food safety.
To be honest, I have not seen Egg Story pasteurized eggs at supermarkets’ egg section before. According to Sum, (Marketing Manager of Egg Story), due to AVA regulation, pasteurized eggs must be stored in the chillers. The pasteurized eggs are sold in selected outlets of major supermarket. Do check the website for exact store locations. So how much does these eggs cost? A packet of 500g pasteurized eggs cost $3.10. The price is comparable to those local farm brand egg that contain omega 3 & 6 plus lower in cholesterol and vitamin E.
Enough said, let’s take a look at the farm tour.
After the pasteurization process, the eggs are visually check for cracks.
Visual Checks For Egg Shell Cracks
Waxing Process
The pasteurized eggs are coated with protective food grade coating to prevent bacteria from entering the eggs through the pores of the shell.
Drying Process
Packing Process
These packed pasteurized eggs are stored in the chiller before sending out to leading supermarkets. Egg story also transports the pasteurised eggs in chiller van. Hence freshness of the eggs are maintained from storage to transportation of eggs.
So how do we differentiate a pasteurised egg with a non-pasteurised one?
By cracking the eggs in a black bowl, you can see that the pasteurised egg white is slightly cloudy due to the change in protein structure during pasteurization. All pasteurised egg are marked with a ‘P’ for assured pasteurization quality.
To me the pasteurization eggs taste the same as normal eggs. The selling point will be the healthier choice for consumers.
Thank you Egg Story (N & N agriculture) for the invite and the pasteurization eggs gift set. We had enjoyed the farm tour and widen our knowledge on pasteurised shell eggs.
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