Ghanaians advised to consume egg daily

Mr Victor Oppong Adjei, President, Ghana National Association of Poultry Farmers (GNAPF) has urged Ghanaians to eat eggs on daily basis for healthy living.

He said eating eggs regularly played a key role in disease prevention and contributed to the well-being of people in life, particularly in relation to eyesight and maintenance of the body.

Mr Oppong Adjei said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency during the celebration of the World Egg Day at the State House, in Accra.

World Egg Day offers a unique opportunity to help raise awareness on the benefits of eggs. It is celebrated globally on the second Friday in October each year.

The day was established at the Vienna 1996 conference.

For centuries, eggs have played a major role in feeding families around the globe. They are unbeatable when it comes to versatility and top-quality protein and nutrients.

The day offers a unique opportunity for the public to ponder and discuss the benefits of egg consumption.

It would also draw the attention of policy makers, implementers and stakeholders in the sector to fashion out more proactive ways of up scaling funding, production and consumption of eggs.

The day marked by the GNAPF annually, was on the theme: “For Good Health, Think Egg,” and was graced by the Egg Sellers Association, Widows under Akumaa Mama Zimbi Foundation, Nurses, Students from Second Cycle and Tertiary Institutions to celebrate the day.

As part of the activities for the occasion, 30 different dishes cooked from Egg by caterers from Accra Polytechnic was exhibited.

Mr Oppong Adjei said research had shown that eggs constituted an excellent source of choline, essential in memory and brain development.

He indicated that a recent research from United States on the February 20 2015, indicated that cholesterol was no longer a nutrient of concern over consumption.

He stated that cholesterol was a concern in the past attributed to the cause of cardio arrest, stroke and other diseases but now research had proven otherwise.

According to the President, the average Ghanaian consumes 20 eggs per year.

“This is indeed woefully inadequate considering the enormous nutritional values, for the growth of the body.

“Per capita consumption in the country is about 20 eggs per head per annum whilst Argentina has 345 eggs per head per annum so if you look at the difference you could see that Ghanaians are not eating eggs, so we want the consumption rate to go up for people to eat more eggs,” he added.

Mr Oppong Adjei expressed the optimism that just like the US, the Ghana Poultry industry could contribute significantly to the economy if the patronage of egg was higher citing America generating 265 billion dollars in 2014 and 468 billion dollars in 2015 from the poultry industry.

This he said helped economic improvement.

Professor Agyemang Badu Akosa former Director-General of the Ghana Health Service said eggs were good for the young and the old and it was very healthy because it was total balanced diet.

He said each person must eat at least an egg a day and that was the only way to sort out the malnutrition problem and also help children to be intelligent and smart.

“In the USA, each person eats 300 eggs (10 crates) per year, UK, 200(six and half crates) per person each year, China 300 eggs (10 crates) and Mexico 300 eggs (10 crates),” he said.

He urged the GNAPF to determine the retail price for eggs and not to allow retailers to sell them at higher rate so it could be affordable to all.

The group marched through some principal streets of Accra amidst brass band music advocating the health benefit of eggs.