3 ms·

I love how British eggs have deep, amber yolks. Are they force-feeding the hens Earl Grey?

crdrost 2y ago
So hens don't usually have to be force-fed. Some of that color can come from having a diverse source of proteins--like the bugs and insects that pasture-raised hens get access to--but farmers "in the know" will also add paprika and marigold to the usual soy-and-grain supplemental feed, to try to encourage it to come out a bit more.
- philipkglass 2y ago
  A few years back I briefly thought that a rich yolk color was a quality signal, until I found that additives could produce that color cheaply. The color comes from dietary carotenoids [1]. Companies like BASF sell carotenoid feed additives that producers can employ to get a yolk color as rich as desired: https://nutrition.basf.com/global/en/animal-nutrition/our-products/carotenoids https://nutrition.basf.com/global/en/animal-nutrition/our-pr... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carotenoid https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carotenoid
  - eric-hu 2y ago
    I wouldn't be surprised if you were correct in your belief and that this became a case of Goodhart's Law when implemented in the egg industry.
whalesalad 2y ago
a lot of farmers feed them marigold and other color enhancers to try and boost the color - because it is also a sign of the hen having a good diet
- blitzar 2y ago
  something about metrics becomes a target it fails to be a good metric springs to mind.
em500 2y ago
Food additive manufacturers sell farmers aditives to produce yolks with specific hues[1]. There are regional/cultural variations in color preferences, so regional farmers will target different sades. [1] https://www.dsm-firmenich.com/anh/products-and-services/products/carotenoids/carophyll.html https://www.dsm-firmenich.com/anh/products-and-services/prod...
- Workaccount2 2y ago
  It's slightly disingenuous to call carotenoids "additives". Although it might technically be true, carotenoids are naturally present in tons of vegetables (hence carrots) and are a good antioxidant with other known health benefits.
batushka5 2y ago
Once we fed goose with carrot waste - the fat and skin was more orange than yellow!

So hens don't usually have to be force-fed. Some of that color can come from having a diverse source of proteins--like the bugs and insects that pasture-raised hens get access to--but farmers "in the know" will also add paprika and marigold to the usual soy-and-grain supplemental feed, to try to encourage it to come out a bit more.

philipkglass 2y ago
A few years back I briefly thought that a rich yolk color was a quality signal, until I found that additives could produce that color cheaply. The color comes from dietary carotenoids [1]. Companies like BASF sell carotenoid feed additives that producers can employ to get a yolk color as rich as desired: https://nutrition.basf.com/global/en/animal-nutrition/our-products/carotenoids https://nutrition.basf.com/global/en/animal-nutrition/our-pr... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carotenoid https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carotenoid
- eric-hu 2y ago
  I wouldn't be surprised if you were correct in your belief and that this became a case of Goodhart's Law when implemented in the egg industry.

whalesalad 2y ago

a lot of farmers feed them marigold and other color enhancers to try and boost the color - because it is also a sign of the hen having a good diet

blitzar 2y ago
something about metrics becomes a target it fails to be a good metric springs to mind.

em500 2y ago

Food additive manufacturers sell farmers aditives to produce yolks with specific hues[1]. There are regional/cultural variations in color preferences, so regional farmers will target different sades. [1] https://www.dsm-firmenich.com/anh/products-and-services/products/carotenoids/carophyll.html https://www.dsm-firmenich.com/anh/products-and-services/prod...

Workaccount2 2y ago
It's slightly disingenuous to call carotenoids "additives". Although it might technically be true, carotenoids are naturally present in tons of vegetables (hence carrots) and are a good antioxidant with other known health benefits.

batushka5 2y ago

Once we fed goose with carrot waste - the fat and skin was more orange than yellow!