High egg prices have generated headlines across the world, but this crisis didn’t arrive overnight – the business case for egg replacement, or reduction, has been strong for many years. Price fluctuations and supply instability were with us long before the war in Ukraine or the current avian flu outbreak. Furthermore, animal welfare is a growing concern – consumers like the idea of cage-free alternatives to egg.

Arla Foods Ingredients’ Nutrilac^® is a natural solution based on high-quality whey protein. It offers similar properties to egg, with sensory evaluations showing that cakes made with Nutrilac^® retain a moister, fresher feel over their shelf life and have a less fragile, more resilient crumb. Furthermore, it can improve taste and texture without any change to water activity, even when egg content is reduced by 50% or more.

• supply security,
• price stability,
• better food safety (no pathogens),
• extended shelf life,
• and no need to refrigerate

Other advantages include lower storage space requirements – a single bag of Nutrilac^® can replace around 4000 eggs.

It’s very hard to predict what’s going to happen to egg prices in the future. However, it’s likely that demand for cage-free options will increase, not just because of the egg shortage but also because growing numbers of manufacturers are going to realise the many benefits they can offer.

Arla Food Ingredients have some great resources for Food Technologists.  Click here to watch a video and learn about how you can use Nutrilac^® egg replacement solutions in your cake products or to download a handy whitepaper.