Sharon See Channel NewsAsia 17 Mar 10;
SINGAPORE: Make the switch to liquid and powdered eggs is what Singapore's food watchdog is trying to persuade consumers to do.
The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) is doing this through a public education programme.
It roped in a famous chef Pung Lu Tin to cook up creative dishes to show that liquid and powdered eggs taste just as good as shell eggs.
Over the next four weeks, AVA will carry out cooking and sampling sessions at supermarkets.
Samples of liquid and powdered eggs will also be given to consumers so they can try these products at home.
Liquid and powdered eggs are not catching on fast enough and account for less than one per cent of egg consumption in Singapore.
They were introduced here six years ago and are used mainly by the food industry.
Singapore consumes about four million eggs a day and more than three-quarters of eggs are imported from Malaysia.
Senior Minister of State for National Development Grace Fu explains why it makes sense to try different types of eggs.
She said: “It is important for us to have resilience in our food supply. If we over-rely on a single source for eggs, we will be vulnerable to outbreak of diseases. We want to create alternatives so that we have many supplies that could help us build up our food resilience.” -CNA/vm
Care for liquid or dry eggs?
AVA hatches ways to get Singaporeans to try alternative egg sources
Jessica Lim, Straits Times 18 Mar 10;
Eggs in liquid form being packed at a factory. Liquid eggs are often the main source of scrambled eggs at fast-food restaurants and found in products like egg noodles, cakes and ice-cream. -- ST PHOTO: DESMOND LIM
SINGAPOREANS love their eggs, consuming four million daily. But not so when the eggs come in powder or liquid form - even though they may have a longer shelf life and are safer.
It is a notion that the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) is hoping to change as it embarks on its second drive in six years to get Singaporeans to warm up to alternative sources of eggs.
Moving away from the shell variety is vital to Singapore's goal of ensuring diversity in food sources, said the AVA.
But a survey of 601 consumers conducted by the AVA last year found that only a third of the respondents knew of these egg alternatives.
This, despite the fact that liquid eggs are often the main source of scrambled eggs at fast-food restaurants and are in everyday products such as egg noodles, cakes and ice-cream.
Liquid and powdered eggs are also made from fresh eggs and are 'safer' because they undergo a pasteurisation process, which kills bacteria and possible virus particles. They also have a longer shelf life.
Yet only about 40,000 eggs are consumed or used in liquid or powdered form daily - mostly by restaurants and manufacturers - making up less than 1 per cent of the four million eggs consumed here.
Regular eggs are mostly imported, with Malaysia accounting for 77 per cent, while a small proportion comes from countries like New Zealand. The rest are supplied by local farms.
'Retailers are not selling these products because of lack of demand from consumers, and consumers are not buying them because of a lack of awareness,' said AVA spokesman Goh Shih Yong.
The government agency first hatched its alternative egg drive - aimed at industry players like food manufacturers - in 2004, just after the bird flu scare in Malaysia led to curtailed imports, a five-fold increase in prices here and a shortage at supermarkets.
But waiting till disaster strikes before securing alternative supplies is often too late.
In a speech at the launch of the campaign yesterday at the Temasek Culinary Academy, Ms Grace Fu, Senior Minister of State for National Development and Education, said the bird flu pandemic highlighted the nation's vulnerability to sudden supply disruptions and the need for greater food supply resilience. 'We should not take this constant egg supply for granted,' she said.
The campaign, aimed at consumers, will start on Saturday. It will run for at least six months and include cooking demonstrations at supermarkets as well as distribution of sample packs and information booklets at supermarket chains.
The main drawback, however, is that liquid eggs cost about 25 per cent more than whole eggs, while the powdered form can cost twice as much.
But to consumers like IT manager Susan Lim, 53, it is the taste that matters.
'One is egg from a shell, the other is in powder form or out of a packet. How can it taste the same?' said the mother of two, though she agreed to try it.
Nutritionist Louisa Zhang noted that nutritionally there is no difference, and may just be a matter of preparation. Also, taste-wise, not many people can tell apart one from the other.
Supermarkets chains like NTUC FairPrice and Sheng Siong are working closely with the AVA and suppliers to introduce the products to consumers.
'It will be on Sheng Siong's shelves in two or three months if demand is good,' said the supermarket's managing director Lim Hock Chee. 'It might take some time for consumers to catch on, but it is important for us as well that we have alternatives on our shelves in times of shortage.'
Different types of eggs
REGULAR EGGS
# Unit price: About 15 cents
# Shelf life: Three weeks
# Imported from: Mostly Malaysia - and 1 per cent from Japan, New Zealand, the United States and Australia.
# Journey to the market: They are either trucked in from Malaysia or shipped from the other countries, then packed and transported to stores.
LIQUID EGGS
# Unit price: About 20 cents
# Shelf life: Three to 12 weeks
# Imported from: Australia, Japan, China, France and the US.
# Journey to the market: Regular eggs are washed, broken, mixed in tanks, pasteurised, packed and stored at below-freezing temperatures.
POWDERED EGGS
# Unit price: About 30 cents
# Shelf life: Up to a year
# Imported from: Belgium, the US, China, France and Denmark.
# Journey to the market: Regular eggs are washed, broken, mixed in tanks and pasteurised. The mixture is then spray-dried for three minutes at 170 deg C, cooled and packaged.
