The move was mainly due to misconceptions back in the late 70s that white eggs were of lower quality and even that they were bleached which has now been rebuffed. Since the 1980s the British industry has produced almost 100 per cent brown shelled eggs for high street retailers.
Why do we not get white eggs anymore? We are now seeing white eggs appear in our supermarkets more often. The reason we see fewer white eggs is due to the ratio of chicken in the UK. It is estimated that of the 40m egg-laying birds in the UK, only about 250,000-300,000 are breeds that lay white eggs.
Up until the early 1970s white eggs – which are generally medium sized - were popular in the UK but they fell out of favour by the end of the decade when shoppers began switching to the brown variety which tend to be larger, and there was a misconception that white eggs were lower quality.
The reason brown eggs came to dominate in UK markets, grocers and supermarkets in the 1970s was due to the fact that brown eggs sold better than white. This was partly to do with marketing, partly to do with folklore. Eventually, all commercially produced eggs were from hens who produced brown shells.
But why is this? About 40 years ago, people decided that they didn't like the look of white eggs, so brown eggs were the ones sent to supermarkets for selling, and white eggs were reserved for restaurants and cafes aka where customers wouldn't seem them in their shells.
The main egg colour available in Australia is brown, although a small number of farms also sell white eggs. While many people assume brown eggs are more natural and therefore healthier, that's not the case. Brown hens lay brown eggs, white hens lay white eggs, and they both have the same nutritional profile.
The move was mainly due to misconceptions back in the late 70s that white eggs were of lower quality and even that they were bleached which has now been rebuffed. Since the 1980s the British industry has produced almost 100 per cent brown shelled eggs for high street retailers.
Chicken egg colours explained:
Brown eggs: caused by protoporphyrin IX, from the hen's haemoglobin, and is coated on the outside of the egg as it moves through the oviduct.
While it is true that eggs are cleaned before being packaged and sent to your grocery store, they are not bleached. In fact, most eggs start out white, but different breeds are genetically coded to release different colored pigments as the egg passes through the hen's oviduct. Voilà! You have different colored eggs.
The eggshell colour depends on the breed of the hen. Generally speaking, white shell eggs come from hens with white feathers, while brown shell eggs are produced by hens with brown feathers.
Big & Free Large White Free Range Eggs 10 Pack - Tesco Groceries.
Americans wash their eggs
According to Huff Post, what really separates American eggs from eggs in the U.K. is the fact that we wash our eggs in the U.S. before they go to market. NPR goes on to explain that America, along with a handful of other countries, are the only ones to do so.
Great tit. This colourful bird is the UK's largest tit. The great tit makes a nest of moss and feathers, before laying its eggs in early spring. Description: white eggs with light brown-red speckles.
In the UK, Grade A hen eggs may not be washed because the process is thought to "aid the transfer of harmful bacteria like salmonella from the outside to the inside of the egg," according to the Food Safety Authority of Ireland.
Europeans take a different approach. In the United Kingdom, for example, producers instead vaccinate laying hens to prevent the transmission of salmonella. They then rely on a thin, naturally occurring coating called the cuticle, to prevent any contamination from the outside of the shell penetrating to the egg.
Egg yolks vary in colour from dark orange to almost white and this variation is almost entirely due to the pigments in the chicken's food. A diet rich in pigments will produce eggs with darker yolks.
The egg industry faces supply issues impacted by rising feed costs and a hangover from the pandemic restrictions which reduced laying flocks. Egg Farmers of Australia told SBS in 2022 the industry had been impacted by bushfires, floods, droughts, the mice plague, COVID-19 and increased production costs.
The color of the shell does not affect the nutrient content. There is no nutritional difference between a white and a brown egg. The breed of the hen determines the color of her eggs. Chickens such as the Leghorn, White Rock and Cornish, lay white eggs.
Egg washing is not required in Australia, but sale of dirty eggs is prohibited by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ). Storing washed eggs below 7°C can help reduce the ability of Salmonella to grow.
Pasture-Raised Eggs / Pastured Eggs): Pasture-raised eggs (sometimes referred to as pastured eggs) are the healthiest eggs to buy, no question. Pasture-raised means that the hens are free to roam and graze freely in a large open pasture.
The color of the egg doesn't matter. What is important is the quality of the egg. You might notice that most chefs and bakers use brown eggs instead of white. This is most likely because brown eggs tend to be fresher than white as they come from local farms.
Here's What Fresh Eggs Daily Tells Us:
And farmers have up to 30 days to go from when the egg is laid to the carton. That means those supermarket eggs can be two months old by the time you buy them.
That's because five years ago the industry switched their breeder supply and stopped producing white eggs, due to a lack of demand. "New Zealanders love brown eggs," says Michael Brooks, executive director of Egg Producers Federation of New Zealand. "They love what they perceive as a natural feel about brown eggs.
It's a simple case of supply and demand. New Zealanders stopped buying white eggs, therefore the industry stopped producing and selling the eggs commercially, opting instead for their brown-tinted relatives.
The breed of hen determines the colour of the shell. Hens with white feathers and ear lobes lay white eggs; hens with red feathers and ear lobes lay brown eggs.