Egg Innovations leads US ethical egg production with in-ovo sexing technology

05 Apr 2024 --- Egg Innovations has announced plans to adopt in-ovo sexing technology, marking the company as the first in the US to implement such a measure. This technology, which is currently only available in Europe, allows for the determination of an egg’s sex before hatching, thereby aiming to eradicate the practice of male chick culling.

Egg Innovations is taking a step forward in humane egg production. By integrating in-ovo sexing technology, the company will enhance its high welfare standards, which already commence from the first day of a young hen’s life. 

“Humane care is the ethos in which Egg Innovations was founded. Humane care is centric to our mission, this commitment to in-ovo sexing is a huge step as we will be able to label our products 'free of chick culling,” says John Brunnquell, Ph.D., founder and CEO of Egg Innovations.

“While it’s an unknown if the market is ready to embrace this, we know it's the right thing to do. We are excited to trailblaze with this technology in the US for the well-being of our products, customers, and industry.”

The nature of egg production and the level of focus on hen welfare in domestic policy and advocacy differ from one country to another.Welfare of poultry
Scheduled to roll out in 2025, Egg Innovations plans to leverage its regenerative farming Helpful Hens brand to introduce this approach to consumers nationwide. 

Robert Yaman, CEO of Innovate Animal Ag says: “The introduction of in-ovo sexing technology will allow for specialty egg producers to create a new higher-margin category of more ethical eggs that will be better for the chicks, producers, and consumers. This is a large step toward eliminating chick culling in the US egg industry.”

According to the Food and Agricultural Organisation, over the past 50 years, there has been an exponential increase in global egg production, driven by advancements in intensive egg production systems. This growth has been facilitated by ongoing refinements and innovations within the industry.

The implementation of in-ovo sexing is made possible through novel technologies that discern the sex of developing eggs, ensuring the hatching of female chicks only. 

Nancy Roulston, senior director of Corporate Policy and Animal Science, ASPCA Farm Animal Welfare, highlights: “For decades now, billions of newly hatched male chicks have been culled every year—making this one of the most urgent farm animal welfare issues today.” 

“Now that in-ovo sexing technology is commercially available, we can envision a future that renders the routine culling of male chicks obsolete in egg production. We urge others across the egg industry to adopt this groundbreaking technology to advance animal welfare.”

Edited by Sichong Wang