Following Sainsbury’s decision to abandon brown eggs and stock only white eggs, numerous Brits have been questioning whether there’s any nutritional difference between the two varieties and whether the change warrants switching their usual supermarket.
The rationale behind the chain’s move towards white eggs centres on their supposedly 12.7% lower carbon footprint compared with brown eggs, according to Sainsbury’s own research. This is because hens laying white eggs require less feed to produce the same quantity of eggs, reducing the resources needed throughout the supply chain.
Feed production represents 50-60% of the environmental impact associated with egg farming.
Britain gets through approximately 14.5 billion eggs annually, generating an estimated 4.35 million ton of carbon dioxide emissions along the way.
If the whole industry managed the same 12.7% reduction that Sainsbury’s claims, emissions could drop by over 550,000 ton of CO2 each year, The Independent reports. That’s roughly equivalent to taking nearly 300,000 cars off Britain’s roads, reports the Express.
View 2 ImagesBritain gets through a staggering 14.5 billion eggs each year.(Image: Getty)
For most of the 20th century, white eggs were the standard in the UK. Yet during the 1970s, brown eggs became the staple of Britain’s middle class and went on to dominate the market.
Nowadays, most eggs sold are brown, and, as the posh assume, the browner the egg and the more orange the yolk, the better the quality. In truth, however, there’s remarkably little distinction between the two coloured eggs, with Sainsbury’s stunt seeming to be nothing more than clever marketing.
In fact, influencer Sunna Van Kampen, known as @tonichealth, argued in a TikTok post that the distinctive bright orange yolks aren’t an indicator of quality, but instead a consequence of what the chickens have been fed. Sunna, who has 8.5 million likes on the platform, said: “The reason why your yolks are so dark and orange… is because they feed [the hens] marigold and paprika.”
This was verified by a 2024 study published by the National Library of Medicine. “We found that paprika improved the colour of the egg yolks and affected the hens’ blood cholesterol levels in different ways,” the study claims. The shade of a yolk is primarily determined by pigments called carotenoids, which are found naturally in ingredients like maize, marigold, peppers and carrots.
The shade of the egg shell depends on the breed of the hen. Generally speaking, white hens lay white eggs and brown hens lay brown eggs. There’s no nutritional distinction between white and brown shelled eggs, according to British Lion Eggs.
What matters far more, however, is checking the code stamped on the shell.
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Organic eggs display a 0, free-range eggs a 1, barn eggs a 2 and eggs from caged hens a 3 – although all major supermarkets no longer sell caged hen eggs.
So, neither the shell nor the yolk colour gives any indication of how healthy the hen was, or whether the egg will produce a superior omelette.
What it does reveal, however, is that stocking white eggs is far more cost-effective for a major supermarket chain such as Sainsbury’s. And arguably, a touch more environmentally-friendly too.