An Egg-Ceptional Superfood

Hyderabad: Every year, the World Egg Day is celebrated on Friday of October to highlight the importance of this protein-rich food. Poultry experts lay special stress on boosting its consumption to boost immunity during the current pandemic.

At a webinar hosted by Suresh Chitturi, Chairman of the International Egg Coordination Committee (IEC), Tim Labert, former chairman of IEC, Dr Raghav Sunil, MS Orthopaedics, and Sanjoy Mukerji, CEO, Indian Poultry Review, discussed case studies and shared business insights about the industry during the new normal.

Suresh Chitturi noted that the egg supply chain remained strong in 2020 and even during the pandemic, egg farmers worked with gusto with their partners to deliver fresh, local, high-quality eggs in India. Tim Labert exuded confidence that the egg industry will continue its exponential growth in India, Asia and around the world, as it enhanced the efficiencies and sustainability, at the farmer level to further grow the outreach of this efficient animal protein. "Eggs have a positive impact on climate change. Eggs are a key part of diet; they are also affordable animal protein. It is also relatively easy to produce and scale up. We are working with Asian farmers to make the egg production viable and sustainable," he said.

An interesting panel discussion on "Egg, much more than the perfect protein- An Egg-ceptional Superfood," saw the participants underlining the importance of eggs to keep immunity at a high level to fight COVID. "Having an egg per day will give sustainable protein of choice for consumers. With 6% of Vitamin A and 6.3 grams of protein in one egg, we consume just 75 calories, the egg is a super protein food for individuals who pursue fitness or maintain a healthy weight," they said.

According to them, studies demonstrate that eating eggs can lower the risk of heart disease in healthy people. Despite containing cholesterol, eggs contain high-density levels (HDL) or 'good' cholesterol. Research shows that people with higher levels of HDL generally have reduced risks of heart disease.