Last year, over two billion eggs were produced in the Czech Republic. From abroad, another 767.7 million were imported into the country. The average consumer price in the last year was 3.63 crowns. Most eggs on the domestic market come from the landowners. "Where the egg was carried, the customer will find it easy to label the shell. The breeding method determines the first digit digested on the egg. Cage is labeled with three, and in the total production of eggs it is 87.58 percent, the second is the hall farm, from which comes 11.95 percent of the eggs, the free breeding is marked number one and comes from 0.17 percent of the sold eggs, the smallest share - 0.3 percent - is a green breed marked zero, " said Gabriela Dlouhá, chairwoman of the Bohemian-Moravian Poultry Union.
"If a customer is interested in eggs from free or organic farming, they must target them for local retailers. Supermarkets usually offer eggs only from non-human cage farms. There is a much greater risk of disease transmission in them. This is often suppressed by the precautionary dose of antibiotics, which of course passes into egg quality. So people, along with eggs, also consume antibiotics, " added Martin Prokop, author of the Z farm home project.
Besides, under what conditions the egg was taken, both the customers and the origin of the eggs are interested. Most of them are imported into the Czech Republic from Poland. Knowing which country the egg is coming from is often difficult for customers. "The current legislation makes it possible that eggs sold in packages with that country of origin may not be the Czech Republic at all. According to the law, the country of origin is the country where it was last modified and the packaging is considered to be the same, " said Martin Prokop. The orientation from which the egg actually comes from, according to Prokop, makes the code printed directly on the shell easier, but a lot of people can not decipher it. The country of origin indicates the letters behind the first digit. "Domestic eggs again offer smaller vendors, in supermarkets make up the bulk of the supply of eggs from import," adds Prokop
Where the egg originates, of course, it also affects its quality. One of the most widespread myths is that the quality egg is recognized by the color of the yolk. However, farmers can artificially "improve" them. "Breeders can add a dye to the hen's feed so that the egg yolk is deep yellow. Egg quality is fundamentally dependent on how the hen lives - both on the move and on the feed. Small producers are at 99 percent at the same time as breeders and more than the pressure to maximize profits, the quality of production is important to them. For example, they use their own compound feed instead of industrially produced granulates. This all affects the nutritional values and the taste of the eggs, " said Martin Prokop.
As with most foods, the quality of eggs affects time. But people often do not know the durability of the eggs and how they can verify their freshness. "The real durability of the egg is about three weeks. But I personally recommend not to consume eggs older than 14 days. One way to ensure freshness of food is not to buy into the store but to shop in a smaller volume several times a week. A guarantee of freshness is also the purchase from local suppliers, " explained Martin Prokop.
How to check the freshness of the eggs
"Swimmer" - the older the eggs, the more the air is in it. When the egg sheds into the water, it is fresh, if it swims, do not eat it.
Consistency - the older the egg, the more fluid the yolk is. So if it is not easy to separate yolk from the egg white, the egg is not fresh.
Splashing - if you shake the fresh egg, you should not hear almost no sound. If the egg produces a splashing sound, it is not fresh. This method has the advantage that you can try it straight in the store.
Source: Ekolist.cz