Firm targets improved per capita consumption with hard-boiled coloured eggs

As part of efforts to increase egg consumption of Nigerians to 300 per person a year, Funtuna food and Bottling Company, a subsidiary of Funtuna Ventures has introduced ‘coloured hard boiled eggs’, poised to strengthen nutrition value of eggs.

According to the firm, the product is targeted at children and families, adding that eggs could serve as quick and healthy snacks for children going to school and save families valuable time spent in boiling eggs.

Addressing journalist at its production plant in Ogere-Remo, Ogun State, Executive Director, Funtuna Bottling Company, Mrs. Tolulola Olumide, said it was inspired by trends witnessed during an international food exhibition to introduce the first-ever coloured boiled eggs into the Nigerian market with an intent to stir up a daily conversation around the egg issue.

She said it is a chance to spread the evidence based facts that eggs contain good cholesterol and do not contribute to nutrition related diseases.

Mrs Olumide expressed concern that the per-capita egg consumption in Nigeria was lower than the global average, stating that Nigerians on average consume less than 80 eggs per person yearly while China, Mexico and the United States of America consume over 300 eggs per person every year; and in South Africa, each person consumes 180 eggs every year.

This according to her highlights the opportunities for growth and expansion for the egg industry in Nigeria as there are many eligible candidates for eggs that are not eating enough or that are simply not eating.

She added that eggs should not be restricted to festive seasons or World Egg Day, which is celebrated yearly, every first week of October.

On the coloured eggs, Mrs. Olumide explained that the eggs were selected from a healthy flock, cleaned and loaded into a cooking machine to boil. The colours on the eggs performed the dual role of beautifying them and preserving their shelf life.

Her words: “Once eggs are boiled, the natural protective layer on the egg is lost, exposing the micro pores to bacteria infiltration and moisture penetration which aid the spoiling process. The colouring or varnishing process serves to replace that protective coating initially lost through boiling. This extends the shelf life of the eggs to over four weeks at steady room temperature after boiling.”

On the safety of the colourant, she disclosed that the substance used for the colouring was the same as the one used in colouring of foods like cake icing, chocolate brighteners, sugar and candy coating and pharmaceutical colouring.

She said the substance is recognised as a safe inactive ingredient, which is called shellac, a European Union approved food additive. It is 100 per cent safe