News Extra INGREDIENTS
HEALTHY
EGG CRISIS Cracking the
Nigel Draper, Founder and Managing Director of Sorsco, experts in supply chain and procurement for the hospitality sector, explains how to rise above shortages in bakery supply chains
A
lthough the peak of the egg crisis appears to be over, the UK’s bakery industry is still at risk. Indeed, Minette Batters of the National Farmers Union (NFU) has
confirmed that national egg production has fallen to its lowest level in nine years. Likewise, Defra (the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) reported the lowest ever production on record between January and March last year. Availability is unpredictable at best, leaving bakeries around the country scrambling to stock up on the key ingredient ahead of time, hoping that sudden supply shortages won’t leave them with egg on their faces.
An industry on eggshells It’s all down to an unbalanced farming economy, in which farmers are spending more to produce, yet seeing little recompense from major supermarkets in response. Farmers are now spending 79% more on energy and 57% more on bird feed just to supply eggs, according to the NFU – with ongoing conflict in the Ukraine only serving to intensify pressures, as the country used to be a major producer of animal-feed staple, corn. Prior to the government’s pledge to review
fairness in the egg sector in May last year, things got so bad that many egg farmers cracked and quit altogether. The effects of this are still ongoing, especially given that – according to Lyr Jones who supplies eggs en masse to supermarket giant Tesco – national egg consumption is rising by about 3% each year. The relatively affordable protein is gaining traction throughout the cost-of- living crisis, adding additional demand to shortening supply.
Any efforts to remedy shortages
pose a significant threat to bakery survival, making egg quality and ethics somewhat vague at best, despite increasing demand for responsible sourcing from customers”
8 Kennedy’s Bakery Production Feb/March 2024
A fragile future Worse still, any efforts to remedy shortages pose a significant threat to bakery survival, making egg quality and ethics somewhat vague at best, despite increasing demand for responsible sourcing from customers. Indeed, The New European recently reported that the UK is now importing 2000% more eggs from Poland than it did two years ago – Italy not far behind at 300%. The quality of these eggs is not, however, checked, given that the government has not yet introduced post-Brexit testing. Once Brexit changes are put into
place, there could be further disruptions, especially following the UK’s signature of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which could see the import of battery-caged eggs – made illegal in 2012 – return. Needless to say, animal welfare groups, conscious customers and those responsible for overseeing ethical operations will not be happy.
Hatching better plans
One solution to all this is to look into egg alternatives. With more than 2.5 million vegans now in the UK according to fintech company, Finder, plant-based options like aquafaba, applesauce and mashed banana do very well when it comes to replacing the eggs used in the nation’s favourite cakes, biscuits
bakeryproduction.co.uk
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