Business North September 2020

106 | Volume 19 | Issue 3 businessnorth FRENZ Eggs has developed a new chicken feed ingredient based on mussel waste. PRODUCTION » FRENZ Eggs Ensuring a safe environment for FRENZ egg producers Getting the best in eggs Kelly Deeks T he innovative team at FRENZ Eggs has used its 35 years of free range farming experience to develop a new and natural chicken feed that results in healthier hens, more nutritious eggs, and also goes a long way towards creating better environmental outcomes. FRENZ managing director Rob Darby says when Coromandel mussel farmers had issues with getting rid of their mussel waste, (mussels that were too big, too small, broken, covered in barnacles, with assorted seaweed and resident crabs that live in each mussel) FRENZ saw an opportunity to create a valuable feed ingredient. “The green lipped mussel is a superfood which, in addition to its anti-inflammatory properties, con- tains a wide variety of vitamins, minerals, omega-3 fats, amino acids, antioxidants, enzymes, and many more beneficial nutrients,” he says. “Instead of mussel waste being dumped over- board into our oceans or sent to land fill, it is now collected by FRENZ and carefully dried to maintain all the natural health benefits, then turned into a valuable feed ingredient, which is added to our chicken feed to produce superior healthy hens and nutrient enriched eggs.” Rob says science now acknowledges the best medicine we can give our bodies to ward off dis- ease and aid good health is the medicine our bodies make specifically for us. “A very wise man named Hippocrates realised 2500 years ago that providing our bodies with natural super nutrients and a healthy diet to prevent and cure disease was the way to achieve the goal of ‘let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food’,” he says. “Here at FRENZ we already understood the hens’ ability to consume the goodness of healthy pasture and increase omegas and other nutrients into each egg, compared to any other ordinary egg. So it was no surprise to find that adding natural dry green lipped mussels to the hens’ feed has increased the omega-3 content significantly.” Initial testing was carried out by scientists at Cal- laghan Innovation and showed the mussel feed is resulting in increased levels of omega-3 ‘good fats’. EPA+DHA was 77mg per 100g in standard free range eggs compared with 110mg per 100g in FRENZ normal pasture fed eggs and 162mg per 100g in eggs from hens receiving feed with dried mussel. FRENZ’s custom designed and built mussel waste crusher was provided by local Pukekohe engineer- ing firm FTEK, the same local company which designed and built their state of the art egg washer and sanitiser several years ago. So to meet the highest standards for chefs and overseas countries, FRENZ used FTEK once again to modify its million dollar egg grader, adding a pur- pose built washer and sanitiser system that gently washes and sanitises each and every egg to make them “Kitchen Safe.” “This ensures any bugs or contaminants that can naturally remain on the egg shell surface are re- moved safely to prevent cross contamination in the kitchen environment, like when you are handling eggs and food consumed raw, such as salads,” Rob says. “The technology needed to give a 100% guar- antee of success into this machine is the difference between a Model T Ford and a Lexus.” So in a controlled trial phase, FRENZ introduced the worst case environmental bugs like salmonella onto the egg shell surface then sent them through the new wash system. The reassuring results every time were 100% bug free, clean eggs. Sanitation solutions provider AWS Group has a strong focus on innovative, eco- friendly sanitation and cleaning solutions and products. AWS stands for Air, Water, and Surface and the group has a strong presence in the food and beverage, horticulture, and agricultural industries. The roots of AWS in New Zealand can be traced back to 2006, when Envirolyte NZ Limited rst introduced ANK Neutral Anolyte to New Zealand. ANK Neutral Anolyte is a non- toxic, alcohol-free product, which is environmentally safe while still performing better than common chemistry like chlorine, hydrogen peroxide and ozone. Its application ranges from hard surface disinfection to water treatment and fogging. MPI approved, Assured Quality assessed, and BoiGro certi ed. AWS was approached by FRENZ in 2016 to manage the egg producer’s hygiene and chemistry processes. “FRENZ has very high expectations for what you think would be a simple process of selecting an egg and presenting it to market,” says AWS Group general manager and director Richard Hanna. With BioGro certi cation and the safety of staff front of mind, FRENZ needed a safe and BioGro suitable sanitation product that could guarantee kitchen safe eggs without damaging their new state of the art processing equipment. Richard recommended ANK Neutral Anolyte. The ANK Neutral Anolyte product is now used by several of the FRENZ group farmers to disinfect farm drinking water systems safely and economically. It is safe to use around staff, animals, and plants, and has no dangerous goods storage or transportation requirements. “Working closely with the FRENZ project team meant we could integrate our solution into their new processing facility seamlessly, forming a turn-key solution for the FRENZ business” Richard says. From this process, FRENZ was able to create the “Kitchen Safe” message which adorns their egg packaging and gives consumers complete con dence in what they are purchasing. With the bene t of comprehensive industry knowledge and its own in-house chemist and research and development scientist, AWS is able to offer new and emerging technologies that provide a sustainable point of difference to the products it manufactures and distributes throughout New Zealand and the Paci c. We are poultry rearing specialists based in Mangatangi. We raise chickens till they are 18 to 19 weeks old and ready to lay eggs (called point of lay). Rearers of Quality Poultry For further information you can reach us at 09 294 9222. We are looking forward to hearing from you. 1482 Great South Road, RD 3, Drury 2579 Phone: 09 294 9222 Fax: 09 294 9226 Mobile: 027 294 9222 Email: colin@fairoaks.nz Maketu Poultry Farms Ltd