Orange Corn Adds Color And Nutrition To Eggs

Orange Corn Adds Color And Nutrition To Eggs CROPS Miscellaneous Eggs are the latest food to benefit from the added nutrition of orange corn developed by Professor Torbert Rocheford of Purdue University Vol 43 No 6 The corn is loaded with carotenoids the same type of natural antioxidant pigments that give many fruits and vegetables such as carrots their orange or yellow color Our bodies can convert some to Vitamin A while others aid in eye disease prevention “The first phase of our USDA SBIR grant showed that orange corn can significantly enhance yolk pigmentation and antioxidant carotenoid content ” says Evan Rocheford who owns NutraMaize LLC with his father Torbert Yolk color is essential to producers in the specialty egg industry who typically strive for an orange-colored yolk with a YolkFan score of around 10 When fed yellow corn the yolks are paler only achieving YolkFan scores of 5 to 7 so some producers add expensive carotenoid supplements   Rocheford says that orange corn alone provides enough carotenoids to achieve YolkFan scores of 10 without added pigment “Orange corn is also roughly 20 percent higher in protein so it reduces the amount of costly soybean meal that has to be included in the feed ” he adds which is a good incentive for egg producers to use orange corn which is non-GMO and suitable for organic production   Previous grant-funded studies also showed improved bird health An ongoing Phase II USDA SBIR grant is initiating commercial pilot studies with several pasture-raised egg producers Another USDA grant will study the potential of orange corn’s antioxidant carotenoids to relieve heat stress a major issue for the poultry industry The Rochefords are also working with commercial grain growers and Purdue University The eggs from chickens fed orange corn at Purdue are sold in the university’s store the Boilermaker Butcher Block for $6/dozen The nutrient-rich orange corn is also used in NutraMaize’s line of milled products including grits corn flour and cornmeal which are marketed under the brand name “Professor Torbert’s Orange Corn ” These products are available on Amazon or at www professortorberts com Contact: FARM SHOW Followup NutraMaize www nutramaize com

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