Newswatch: JSFA unscrambles
UV method of egg identification
 Eggs
were on the menu for many a journalist in April, despite Easter
having just passed. Innovative research from the Royal Veterinary
College in conjunction with the South Australian Research
and Development Institute resulted in a new method for telling
apart eggs that have been laid under battery conditions from
those laid in barns or free-range environments.
Reported in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture,
the method involves shining UV light onto unwashed eggs, which
reveals tell-tale patterns caused by the dust from wire cage
floors if eggs have been battery laid.
The research resulted in a flurry of enquiries from the UK
press, and the news was also covered in a number of Australian
newspapers.
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