A new range of nutritionally enhanced eggs, the SuperEgg, said to reduce the risk of heart disease, has been developed by scientists on both sides of the Border.
The eggs are produced at Corby Rock Farm in Co Monaghan along with more conventional free-range and farm-fresh eggs. The hens are fed on a special diet of grains and fish oils which alters the type of fat in the yolk of the egg so that it contains three times more Omega3 fatty acids than is found in regular eggs. Studies suggest that these fatty acids may lower the risk of heart disease.
Developed in association with the Superquinn grocery chain, the eggs "look and cook and taste" the same as their non-enhanced cousins. The diet also contains Vitamin E, increasing the vitamin content by five times the normal amount.
According to Ms Paula Mee, the chain's nutritional adviser, the new feeding process "lowers the level of saturated fat in the egg and results in a rise in healthier polyunsaturated fat" . The eggs were not genetically modified. The changes in the nutritional content were brought about by controlling the hens' diet.
The advent of SuperEggs represents a first in the State, but similar types are already selling steadily in Australia, Canada and some European countries. In the UK, a similar range is known as the Columbus egg.
Their development marked a joint initiative with scientists North and South with researchers from Trinity College and Queen's University Belfast working on the project.
The egg, sold only in Superquinn, comes at an enhanced price. SuperEggs cost 10p more per halfdozen than the normal kind but 10p less than free-range eggs.