Avian Flu Egg Shortage Presents Opportunities for Egg Replacement Suppliers

29 May 2015 --- Egg replacement suppliers have taken on a more prominent role as the avian flu crisis in the US grows rapidly and industrial users of eggs begin to make strategies to tackle the likely forthcoming egg shortage.

The Avian Flu crisis in the US has, so far, lead to the precautionary culling of around 40m chickens, mainly laying hens. The far-reaching effects of this is beginning to be seen across the food industry as egg suppliers warn that an imminent egg shortage will lead to increased prices and furthermore, a need for egg replacement ingredients. Some European egg exporters, particularly from France and the Netherlands, are looking at ways to speed up regulatory approval and license applications to supply the US, as key food manufacturers look at ways to import eggs from other sources.

A potential egg shortage would not only affect consumers directly, but the food industry will be hugely affected. The food industry uses some 80bn eggs in a number of important processes, including, but not limited to, binding and baking. So-called ‘breaker’ eggs are used in liquid, dried or frozen forms as functional ingredients and are of huge importance in the food industry.

Several egg replacement specialists have reported increased number of enquiries from food producers and are making their product ranges prominent as the egg shortage takes hold.

One such company is MGP Ingredients, which supplies wheat-based protein alternatives to food producers in the US. For food manufacturers, MGP’s Arise wheat protein isolates provide highly functional, cost- effective alternatives to egg-based proteins in a wide range of products.

MGP’s Arise 6000 and Arise 8000 wheat protein isolates provide many advantages and are used in flour-based products such as bread and other bakery goods, pasta and noodles, and batters and breadings.

“These high performance plant-based ingredients offer great solutions for creating products that possess enhanced protein quantity and quality,” said Michael Buttshaw, vice president of ingredients sales and marketing. “They additionally contain many outstanding functional properties, along with sensory enhancement qualities, that result in processing benefits and help deliver total product satisfaction.”

Arise 6000 possesses minimum protein of 85% (N x 6.25, dry basis) and demonstrates exceptional elastic properties. For bakers, it decreases dough mix time, while increasing dough extensibility, water absorption, bread loaf volume and crumb firmness. It also increases the firmness of pasta and serves as an effective and economical replacement for egg white powder in retorted pasta. Arise 8000, which features similar benefits, averages a minimum 94% protein (N x 6.25, dry basis).

This newest addition to MGP's Arise family of protein isolates also shows enhanced mixing capabilities, along with high viscoelastic properties.

Another alternative comes in the form of a citrus-based fibre product from FiberStar, a leading supplier of egg replacement products. Its Citri-Fi range boasts up to 30% egg replacement and can be used for moisture retention properties in bakery, sauces & dressings and dairy dessert applications.

Ingredients supplier Archer Daniels Midland has reported an increased number of enquiries related to its plant-based egg replacement options.

While most food outlets and food producers have not reported any direct effects of the shortage, most admit to looking closely at alternatives at this point in order to tackle potential shortages in the future.

Fedele Bauccio, chief executive of foodservice company Bon Appetit Management, spoke to the US media and confirmed that they have been liaising with chefs within the company about how to reformulate egg recipes and what alternatives the company could provide in the case of a possible egg shortage. He said that the company would rather decrease their reliance on eggs, particularly liquid eggs, by promoting products such as biscuits and porridge that do not use eggs.

He further noted that the current crisis again highlights the dangers of intensive farming in the US, where many food producers rely too heavily on factory farming with processes that do not allow poultry to exhibit natural behaviour and therefore succumb to disease such as avian flu more easily.

The majority of cases have been in the leading poultry farming areas of Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin, where there have been 181 confirmed cases of the virus since December 2014. All have declared a state of emergency, such is the serious nature of the outbreak and the effects on agriculture in the area.