Egg Story Pasteurised Eggs in Singapore

I’ve never heard of pasteurised eggs before but I have noticed that whenever I travelled overseas to USA or to Japan, their eggs are always stored in the refrigeration section next to the milk. And I’ve always wondered why the eggs in Singapore are stored on normal shelves. Strangely, once I buy these eggs, I’ll go back home and store them in the fridge. What is pasteurised eggs and why is it better?

With all these questions fluttering in and out of my mind whenever I go grocery shopping, I was delighted to receive an invitation to visit Egg Story’s farm and learn about the pasteurisation of eggs from the CEO, Mr Ma.

N&N is one of the only 3 companies in Singapore that produces eggs and they are Singapore’s 1st and only company to pasteurise fresh eggs. The idea to bring this technology into Singapore was based on their philosophy to  (以人为本) do the best they can for the people they serve.

 Eggs pasteurisation is a tried and tested process in the USA. The pasteurisation technology that N&N uses is developed by the National Pasteurised Eggs, Inc. in USA and is supported by the WHO (World Health Organisation), FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration), USDA (U.S Department of Agriculture) and CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S). In Singapore, Egg Story pasteurised fresh eggs have received the endorsement of and support by AVA Singapore, HPB (Health Promotion Board) and Islamic Religious Council of Singapore.

Why pasteurisation? And how is it done?

Eggs are one of the most common food ingredients but health authorities caution the proper cooking and storage of eggs as Salmonella that causes food poisoning is a common bacteria found in eggs . The pasteurisation process using multi-patented pasteurisation technology from National Pasteurisation Eggs, Inc. (NPE) in USA helps kill Salmonella and bird flu virus if present inside and outside of the egg. This is especially beneficial to vulnerable individuals such as children, elderly or those who are sick and have low immunity. Consumers who enjoy eggs that are not thoroughly cooked till the yolk is hard can also indulge in their favourite recipes with greater peace of mind. Egg Story pasteurised eggs have a prolonged shelf life of 60 days from production date when chilled in the fridge and also greatly reduces the risk of cross-contamination in food preparation area.

If you ever wondered what happens between the time the egg is laid till the time it reaches your plate, this post would give you a blow by blow account!

N&N is a high tech, bio-secure, 13 hectare farm breeding more than half a million hens, producing about 400,000 eggs daily! Their chickens are fed a nutritious diet to ensure that their eggs are lower in cholesterol and contain Omega 3 & 6 and Vitamin E.

Before I start, I had to dress up in a smock, boots, gloves and even a hair net for bio-security reasons.

A quick walk through the motorised brushes to clean off any dirt on the boots.

The first part of the process is the pasteurisation. I was really shocked to see the eggs entering the bubbling all natural water bath. It looks like boiling water but it isn’t. The temperature is set at a specific point to ensure that the eggs get pasteurised effectively without cooking the eggs or destroying the egg nutrients.

No chemical or radiations are used in the process and the nutritional and farm fresh flavour are completely retained.

Despite looking like it just emerged from boiling water, the egg is only slightly warm to touch! The combination of time and temperature heats the eggs in their shell only to the temperature needed to kill Salmonella Enteritis (SE) bacteria and Bird Flu Virus, if present inside and outside the eggs.

Once the eggs have gone through the pasteurisation process, it’s time to proceed into the packaging room.

Some eggshells may have been damaged or cracked in the process and these are eliminated by hand.

The whole eggs that have passed the quality check are laser marked with P to distinguish for an assured Pasteurisation Quality.

Next, these fresh eggs are seal with a protective food grade coating to seal the pores on the eggs for protection.

By the time they reach the end of the line, the food grade coating on the shells have all dried up.

 Egg Story pasteurised eggs comes in 3 sizes:

500g

550g

600g

The pasteurised eggs are stored in the chiller and delivered in chiller trucks to ensure maximum freshness.

I was surprised that for all the goodness that pasteurised eggs bring, it costs the same (or cheaper) than the current low cholesterol Omega 3 & 6 eggs I’m purchasing. I’ll definitely be switching over to Egg Story from now on. You can find it in the chiller section of your local supermarket. Check out http://eggstory.com.sg/store.html for supermarkets that carry Egg Story eggs.

I had these yummy fresh and pasteurised half boiled eggs for breakfast on the farm that morning! To be honest, I can’t tell the difference between pasteurised and non-pasteurised eggs based on the taste. All I could taste was that they were very delicious and  fresh eggs.

There is an interesting difference between pasteurised eggs versus non-pasteurised eggs: the colour of the raw pasteurised egg whites is a little cloudy due to the slight change in protein structure of pasteurised eggs.

The difference is so mild; you can only see it when you use a black plate.

On a white plate, there isn’t any difference!

Egg Story pasteurised eggs are best used for making sunny side ups, half boiled eggs, poached eggs, soft scrambled eggs, tiramisu, Caesar salad dressing, Hollandaise sauce, custard or any type of egg dishes that involves leaving the yolk partially undercooked.

If you are intending to cook hard-boiled eggs, it may be harder to peel the shells off pasteurised eggs especially when they are fresh. And if you are planning to whip up the egg whites for baking, pasteurised egg whites take a longer time to whip up due to the slight change in protein structure during pasteurisation. You can check out the Egg Story website www.eggstory.com.sg to watch a video to get tips on whipping up pasteurised egg white

Another fascinating produced by N & N is Pasteurised Hanjuku eggs with soft yolks but firm egg whites, sold at 7-eleven stores.

I love having these Japanese styled cooked eggs in my noodles and I’m delighted that now I can just buy these at 7-11 stores to add into my home cooked (instant) noodles.

There are 2 eggs in a pack, which is great for sharing, and it is a highlight to my home cooked noodles. I just added it to my instant noodles and it looks and tastes so good!

Louis approves and so do I!

Hope you learnt more about eggs and is better equipped to make informed choices. N&N is currently running a contest on their FB Page. All you have to do is watch a short video clip about Egg Story and answer a simple question. 5 lucky participants will stand a chance to win S$300 worth of supermarket vouchers each!