Push for liquid eggs scrambled by low consumer demand in Singapore

SINGAPORE — As part of Singapore’s ongoing efforts to be less reliant on imports for its food supplies, regulators here have made a push for liquid eggs twice in the last 15 years.

It appears, however, that plans to get Singaporeans to switch from the usual shell egg to liquid eggs have failed to hatch.

Most of the major supermarket chains here do not sell liquid eggs as demand for the product is too low.

Liquid eggs essentially come from shell eggs. After they are broken, the eggs are visually checked, filtered and stored in chiller tanks. Later, they are pasteurised to destroy pathogens and viruses before being packaged and chilled.

Information on the AVA’s website stated that the packaged liquid egg goes through a series of quality checks and laboratory testing and monitoring for any possible food threats, before they are certified safe for delivery.

Last December, the security of Singapore's egg supply was thrust into the spotlight when Malaysian Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said that the country may limit or stop the export of eggs to Singapore to ensure ample supply for its domestic market.

The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) said in response at the time that Singapore has a "wide range of alternative sources" for eggs, in line with its overall food diversification strategy.

Last year, Singapore imported 73 per cent of its eggs from Malaysia, and less than 1 per cent from accredited farms in Australia, Japan, New Zealand and Thailand. Farms here produce the rest of the eggs, the AVA said.

The issue of food security was also highlighted during the recent debate on the Singapore Government’s budget, when Mr Masagos Zulkifli, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, said that Singapore has set a target of producing 30 per cent of its own nutritional needs by 2030.

THE PUSH FOR LIQUID EGGS

The first time that the AVA pushed to get Singaporean consumers to embrace liquid and powder eggs was in the aftermath of the avian influenza outbreak in 2004, which led to Singapore banning the supply of shell eggs from Malaysia.

Six years later in 2010, it launched a five-year campaign to raise awareness about liquid and powder eggs, “so that consumers would be more receptive to the alternatives in times of shortages”, the AVA said in response to TODAY’s queries.

“When hen shell eggs are readily available in the market, they are naturally the first choice for consumers due to cost, taste and cooking habits. On the consumer end, few knew of egg alternatives or how to use them,” an AVA spokesperson said.

The second campaign, which ended in 2014, reached out to more than 75,000 consumers.

A HARD SHELL TO CRACK

Housewife Rozanah Mohd Shah, 44, is among the unconverted. “We’re so used to the normal eggs. I don’t even know how to use and store liquid eggs and whether it will taste the same,” she said. “The name 'liquid eggs' already sounds weird to me.”

Human resource manager Sherlyn Tan, 36, echoed the sentiment, saying that it would be hard to make a switch to “something that is not a norm”.

She added: “It is hard to break the habit of using normal shell eggs. And it sounds like a hassle to use liquid eggs because it’s stored in packaging and all.”

Four major supermarket chains here agreed that liquid eggs failed to win over Singapore’s home cooks.

A spokesperson for NTUC FairPrice told TODAY that its supermarkets do not carry liquid eggs. The supplies were introduced in 2012, but were discontinued less than a year later, due to low customer demand.

Retail group Dairy Farm, which manages Giant and Cold Storage supermarkets, said that liquid eggs are not available at Giant stores. However, they are available in frozen form in five of 50 Cold Storage stores islandwide.

The group said that there has been a decline in demand for liquid eggs as supply of shell eggs have stabilised since 2010. Its spokesperson said: “One possible reason for the low demand could be due to pricing, as liquid eggs are more expensive than normal fresh eggs.”

Sheng Siong’s spokesperson, too, said that the supermarket chain does not sell liquid eggs, and the last time it did was “more than a decade ago”.

Singapore egg producer N&N Agriculture told TODAY that it began producing liquid eggs in late 2014 but has “never supplied liquid eggs to supermarkets”.

Retail packaging affects the shelf life of the product and retail consumer demand is too low, the spokesperson said.

She added that liquid eggs are mainly bought by food manufacturers to make items such as noodles and pastries, as well as by restaurants, cafes and hotels, which use them in dishes such as scrambled eggs, omelettes and baked goods.

COMPANIES MAKING THE SWITCH

TODAY posed the question to the AVA: Has the push to get Singaporeans to embrace liquid eggs been a failure?

The AVA responded that while shell eggs still remain the preferred choice among home cooks, food-and-beverage companies have been making the switch to liquid eggs since 2004.

Among them are kaya (coconut jam) manufacturers such as Fong Yit Kaya and Asia Canning Manufacturers, the agency added.

“Efforts to encourage the food industry to increase their use of liquid eggs is ongoing,” the AVA spokesperson said.

Though importers here are still getting their usual egg supplies from Malaysia, the AVA stressed that Singapore has a wide range of alternative sources for eggs, including local farms.

Singapore has diversified its import sources, which have increased from 140 countries in 2004 to 180 in 2017, the agency added. Such countries include Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Thailand and the United States.

And to encourage import from alternative sources, the AVA has been organising “sourcing mission trips” to countries such as India and Indonesia. The objective is to facilitate networking and increase imports of food from non-traditional source countries, and to explore new potential source countries for supply of food to Singapore, AVA said.

Aside from supporting home-based production through grants, the AVA said that it also encourages agriculture players in Singapore to set up their farms in other countries. Their produce can then be exported back to Singapore.