White Eggs and Brown Eggs — which are Organic Eggs

Have you ever curious about the difference between white eggs and brown eggs? How to differentiate organic eggs from conventional eggs?

Misconception between Organic Eggs and White/Brown Eggs

White eggs, and brown eggs are often sold in hypermarkets, supermarkets and organic retails.

The color of the eggshells does not indicate whether it is organic or not. Both white eggs and brown eggs can be organic or conventional.

Note: In some places, people feel the brown color is more natural than white, so their local organic farmers or growers would choose to produce organic brown eggs rather than white eggs.

Breed of Hens Determines the Color of Eggs

Generally, there are two common commercial hen breeds, white feathers and white ear lobes hens and red/brown feathers and red ear lobes hens. White hens lay white eggs and red/brown hens lay brown eggs.

It is a complete mistake judging whether an egg is organic or not by its color.

Eggshells Thickness

The eggshells contain significant Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3) and a little of others. The amount of Calcium Carbonate in the eggshells is one of the main factors affects the strength and thickness [i].

While the eggs are forming in the hen’s body, there is a finite amount of calcium for each egg.  For example, with a finite amount of calcium covering a large egg, it tends to have fragile eggshells than a smaller egg. Also, as the hens grow older, the absorption rate and mobility of calcium within the hen’s body is gradually decreasing. As a result, adult hens are likely to lay weaker eggshell than young hens [ii].

There is no direct relationship between the thickness of eggshells and the breed of hens, but the age of hens.

Organic Eggs & Conventional Eggs

Conventional eggs are produced in a way that a big restricted cage is populated with many hens, and they are fed with fragmented grain/rice supplemented with Vitamins and water on the side. Those hens do not have much freedom space between them.

What about organic eggs? According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), organic eggs mean the chicken mother is fed with organic feed and they are raised outside the cages [iii].

In a nutshell, there is no direct answer to differentiate organic eggs from conventional eggs. One can only tell the difference between organic eggs and conventional eggs by asking the reps about how the producer raises their hens.

References:

[i] Butcher, Gary D., and Richard Miles. “Concepts of eggshell quality.” VM01300. PDF 6 (1990).

[ii] Gupta, Lokesh, Dr. “Factors Influencing Shell Quality.” The Poultry Site. The PoultrySite, 01 Mar. 2008. Web. 02 Apr. 2017.

[iii] Barnes, Rex. “Eggstra! Eggstra! Learn All About Them.” USDA. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, 06 Apr. 2012. Web. 02 Apr. 2017.,