WorldPoultry: World Egg Day celebrated across the globe

According to the British Egg Industry Council, latest research shows eggs contain even more nutrients than 30 years ago, including 70% more vitamin D than when they were last measured; the previous limits on egg consumption, due to their cholesterol content, have been lifted; and eggs have been shown to keep you feeling fuller for longer, making them a natural aid for dieters.

Various activities are taking place around the world to celebrate and highlight the nutritious benefits of the egg:

Egg Farmers of Canada have partnered with Breakfast Club of Canada and are providing 130,000 children with a nutritious egg breakfast on World Egg Day. Also close to 1,300 World Egg Day celebration kits that include egg coupons, recipe ideas and posters have already been distributed to elementary schools across Canada.

In Zambia, the Poultry Association of Zambia have organised many different promotional activities including a radio discussion on eggs; an essay competition on 'eggs and nutrition' for schoolchildren; "pop ups" with egg messages and World Egg Day logo to be displayed at supermarkets. There will also be articles written for two national daily newspapers.

In Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Animal Agriculture Association (BAAS) along with support from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have organised a rally for World Egg Day, where 5,000 boiled eggs (each one placed inside in a colour printed single food grade paper box) will be distributed free to local people to raise awareness of the goodness of the egg. FAO Bangladesh will also be providing 1,000 T-shirts and 1,000 caps for the rally. A seminar has also been organised on 1 November to present the benefits of eggs to the consumers, physicians, dieticians and industry. This will cover the nutrition of eggs - benefits to human health; egg industry and layer management.

World Egg Day in New Zealand is planned by Egg Producers Federation of New Zealand Inc to include a promotional segment on TV2 "What Now Live!" to feature 'The Egg Guy' and a World Egg Day Challenge - Kids will compete to win a mini iPad.

In France, 500,000 eggs will be given away by the French egg industry. In addition to this charity event, an educational movie about the French egg sector will be launched on World Egg Day.

The American Egg Board in the USA will be distributing a Media Fact Sheet ahead of World Egg Day and is also planning major social media outreach; leading up to World Egg Day, the "Incredible Adventurer Egg" (an egg decorated to look like Indiana Jones) will be traveling the world sharing global egg facts and Incredible Egg ethnic recipes on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

World Egg Day is being celebrated in Turkey with the theme of 'Eggs as the Source of Life and Egg Discoveries'. Yum-Bir-Turkish Egg Producers Association, in collaboration with the Directorate General for Innovation and Technology of the Ministry of National Education, have already completed a painting and story contest entitled 'Eggs as the Source of Life and Egg Discoveries'.

In Mexico, the promotion of eggs will be carried out nationwide and it will end on World Egg Day with a series of Seminars and special events about the egg, all designed to increase egg consumption.

In Hong Kong, there will be a competition to see who can come up with an inventive new way to use eggs in a recipe; it is hoped that going forward, a different event will be created each year to mark and celebrate World Egg Day.