Egg origin test shows potential

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Poultry farmers who falsely claim their eggs are free-range can now be caught out by a test to identify whether hens are caged or not.

Lower Hutt researcher Karyne Rogers said her test done on yolk, albumen and membrane would prevent the mislabelling of eggs.

"New Zealand exports more than two million free-range eggs a year and this test could provide added consumer confidence, which would give New Zealand an advantage in export markets," said Dr Rogers, of Geological and Nuclear Science's national isotope centre.

She can distinguish between caged, barn, free-range and organic eggs because of different carbon and nitrogen levels in hen diets.

"Free-range and organically farmed hens normally have access to a wider range of food sources than caged hens, such as insects, vegetation or organic feeds, and this changes the isotope [chemical] fingerprint of their eggs. The next step is to seek industry funding to work directly with egg producers to further refine the technique so it can be fully tested and applied in the industry."

The findings, published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, confirm isotope analysis is a potentially useful way of identifying eggs.

- © Fairfax NZ News