Peter Gordon: No such thing as a bad egg

12:00 PM Saturday Oct 29, 2011

Chickens may be happier being free-range but their eggs still hold the same nutritional content. Photo / Rotorua Daily Post

I received a booklet with some health supplements I purchased recently and they had a article on eggs and it said, "A conventional egg from a battery hen is a completely different food biochemically - they are health damaging, ageing and toxic". Any truth in this?

- Nick Mills

Ed's Note: Peter Gordon recently presented the inaugural New Zealand SPCA Blue Tick Good Egg Awards that recognise food businesses supporting animal welfare by sourcing cage-free eggs. Because educating customers requires both good information and good taste, Weekend Life asked Massey University's Institute of Food, Nutrition and Human Health Director of Education and Research Professor V. (Ravi) Ravindran to clarify the science:

Eggs are wholesome and packed with essential nutrients, irrespective of the type of housing used to rear the hens (cages vs free range). One egg has all essential vitamins and minerals in varying amounts, high-quality protein, unsaturated fats and antioxidants, all for 70 calories. Irrespective of the source, eggs contain no undesirable components which are health damaging. So there is no truth in the claims made in the article.

Eggs produced by free-range hens are widely perceived by the public to be nutritionally superior to eggs obtained from layers kept in traditional battery cages. However, a recent scientific study has called this popular perception into question by finding essentially no differences in the nutritional quality of eggs produced by hens from both management systems. This two-year study, conducted at the North Carolina State University in the US and published in Poultry Science (a scientific journal published by the American Poultry Science Association), found the nutrient composition of both type of eggs was similar. The only difference was in the total fat content which was higher in the free range eggs, possibly because of the insects eaten by the free range hens; but there were no differences between the eggs in the cholesterol content. The key conclusion from this research was that "an egg, no matter where it is produced, is a very nutritious product".

* To ask Peter a question, click on the Email Peter link below.

By Peter Gordon

R Williams (Beach Haven) | 10:22AM Sunday, 30 Oct 2011

However an egg produced by a free-range hen and purchased by me at the supermarket is an investment in the wellbeing and proper treatment of animals in New Zealand.

Benny () | 10:22AM Sunday, 30 Oct 2011

Yes, but what about the flavour difference? The eggs from my chickens at home are darker in colour and far more flavoursome than any 'free range' egg at the supermarket.

Philip Westwood () | 10:22AM Sunday, 30 Oct 2011

The problem with that study by researchers at North Carolia State University is that the 'free range' hens used had been beak trimmed - so essentially they were only able to eat the same food as hens in cages. Of course there was no nutitional difference.