Raw eggs have been consumed in various dishes such as mayonnaise, hollandaise sauce and chocolate mousse for decades. While the risk of Salmonellosis does exist it is very low. Midlands Eggs adheres to strict food safety protocol and conducts routine microbiological testing to ensure that our products remain as safe as possible. Our farmers are also committed to supplying clean, safe, fresh eggs. Despite this, there remains some degree of risk so we would advise that precautions be taken. Properly cooked eggs would be considered “safe” since Salmonella bacteria dies off at about 74°C. Dishes containing uncooked eggs are more susceptible to Salmonella bacteria and therefore need to be prepared and stored carefully. When using raw eggs it is always advisable to use the freshest eggs and to consume the dish within a day. Leaving dishes containing raw egg at room temperature for extended periods of time is not advisable. The risk of Salmonella can be minimised by storing your eggs safely in the fridge inside the carton they came in, discarding any damaged eggs found inside your carton, and not consuming eggs well past their best before date.

Yes, there are many weird and wonderful uses for egg shells around the house and in the garden. A few of the of the more practical ones worth mentioning are: Fertilize your garden – Mixing egg shells in your soil and giving them some time to break down is a great source of calcium; Deter garden pests – Keep crawling pests such as snails, slugs and cutworm away from your plants by laying crushed shells around the permitter of your garden bed.

No, the eggs sold in grocery stores, from reputable brands, are laid on farms that have a females only population – no males allowed. Since there are no roosters around to fertilise the eggs, there is no chance of a fertile egg being produced.

There has been much debate when it comes to eggs and cholesterol levels.  In the past, eggs received a bad reputation for having high cholesterol levels. According to the Heart Foundation, evidence suggests that eggs have a very small effect on blood cholesterol levels, especially at normal intake levels. While egg yolks are high in cholesterol and are a major source of dietary cholesterol, it is saturated fatty acids that have a greater effect on blood cholesterol levels. It is also important to pay attention to the foods you eat alongside your eggs such as bread, butter, salt, and/or processed meats like bacon or sausages.

Egg yolks get their colour from carotenoids which are plant pigments responsible for red, orange and yellow hues in certain vegetables and fruits such as carrots and pumpkins. Carotenoids are also found in green plant material. The shade of yolk depends on the hens diet. If their diet is rich in carotenoids, the yolks will be darker and more orange than yellow. Research indicates that yolk colour does not have any impact on your health. While the shade of and egg yolks colour may not impact its health value, many chefs, farmers and home cooks around the world swear that the yolk's colour does affect flavour of the egg and we would have to agree.

Red spots in your egg may be one of two things, a blood spot or a meat spot. Both are “imperfections” that occur during the laying process but do not render the egg unsafe. There is a fairly common misconception that blood spots are the beginnings of a chick embryo. This is not the case. They are simply the remnants of a ruptured blood vessel that occurred during the formation of the egg. Most often, the ruptured vessel forms a tiny speck or dot of blood with a dark red, brown hue. Sometimes, larger vessels burst, and this allows blood to pool throughout the egg. In either case, blood spots are a natural part of egg laying and despite being visually unappealing are not harmful for human consumption. Eggs containing small blood or meat spots are safe to eat and these imperfections can easily be removed with a spoon or tip of a knife. DID YOU KNOW: Midlands Eggs has a state of the art egg grading machine that is able to detect and remove blood spots, making it highly unlikely you will come across one in your pack of Midlands Eggs.

The short answer is that free range hens have access to the outdoors where they are free to roam on pastures and express their natural freedoms. Barned eggs, while free of cages, are not free to leave the confines of their barn and never have access to the outdoors. The following egg production systems may be placed in a simple hierarchy, from an ethical point of view, in order of freedom. Starting with the least degree of freedom and ending with the highest degree of freedom. 3. Conventional (Caged) 2. Barn (Cage-free) 1. Free Range (Cage-free & freedom to access the outdoors) The easy way to remember it is this: All free range hens are cage-free but not all cage-free hens are free range.

This is an important question as there is a lot of misconception surrounding egg sizes. Contrary to popular perception, eggs are not sorted according to physical size but are sorted according to weight. This is not something that each supplier of eggs can decide for themselves. Instead, egg weight categories are determined by South African regulations governing the sale of eggs. These regulations specify the minimum weight per size category as follows: (Weights are displayed on a per egg basis, to be calculated by weighing several eggs and calculating an average) Mixed Sizes  = 33 to 43 grams Medium = 43 to 51 grams Large = 51 to 59 grams X-Large = 59 to 66 grams Jumbo = 66 to 72 grams Super Jumbo = more than 72 grams