Egg marketing in national supermarkets: egg quality--part 1

Department of Animal Sciences, University of California, Riverside 92521, USA. don.bell@ucr.edu

Two surveys were conducted to determine the quality of eggs offered to consumers in large supermarkets in various regions of the US. The first survey was conducted in California (CA) in 1994 and included 38 samples of large (L) and extra large (XL) white eggs in 15 markets. Individual eggs were weighed, candled, and broken out for Haugh unit (HU) determination. Regional differences in age of eggs, the number of eggs below 55 HU, and the percentage of cracked eggs were observed. The second survey was conducted in California (CA), Illinois (IL), Pennsylvania (PA), Texas (TX), North Carolina (NC), and New England (NE). This study included brown and white eggs and samples from 115 stores in 38 cities. Significant age, egg weight, HU, and cracked egg differences were observed between states. Brown and white eggs were different relative to age and HU, but egg weights and cracked eggs were statistically the same. The two surveys, 1994 and 1996, within CA demonstrated very similar measurements when L-white eggs were compared.