Egg Beaters is a product marketed in the United States as a healthy substituteEggbeaters website-Health Benefits
Accessed January 22, 2011 for whole

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

. It is a substitute for whole/fresh eggs (from the shell) that contains less cholesterol, but it is not an

egg substitute An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the ...

(in the sense of a food to replace eggs for people with egg allergies). Egg Beaters is primarily

egg whites Egg white is the clear liquid (also called the albumen or the glair/glaire) contained within an egg. In chickens it is formed from the layers of secretions of the anterior section of the hen's oviduct during the passage of the egg. It forms arou ...

with added flavorings, vitamins, and thickeners

xanthan gum Xanthan gum () is a polysaccharide with many industrial uses, including as a common food additive. It is an effective thickening agent, emulsifier, and stabilizer that prevents ingredients from separating. It can be produced from simple sug ...

and

guar gum Guar gum, also called guaran, is a galactomannan polysaccharide extracted from guar beans that has thickening and stabilizing properties useful in food, feed, and industrial applications. The guar seeds are mechanically dehusked, hydrated, mil ...

. It contains real egg whites, but no egg

yolks Among animals which produce eggs, the yolk (; also known as the vitellus) is the nutrient-bearing portion of the egg whose primary function is to supply food for the development of the embryo. Some types of egg contain no yolk, for example bec ...

Past and present

The Egg Beaters product was introduced in 1972 at a time when there was a widespread public perception in various countries that any

dietary cholesterol Cholesterol is any of a class of certain organic molecules called lipids. It is a sterol (or modified steroid), a type of lipid. Cholesterol is biosynthesized by all animal cells and is an essential structural component of animal cell membran ...

was detrimental to

cardiovascular health Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, he ...

. Because egg

yolk Among animals which produce eggs, the yolk (; also known as the vitellus) is the nutrient-bearing portion of the egg whose primary function is to supply food for the development of the embryo. Some types of egg contain no yolk, for example bec ...

s have plenty of cholesterol, this notion created a market demand for a way to eat eggs or egg-like foods without ingesting dietary cholesterol. The Egg Beaters product served this demand with egg whites that were convenient (required no eggshell handling and no yolk separating by the user) and yet still had the pleasing yellowness and texture of regular beaten (whole) eggs. The product was originally sold frozen as "Fleischmann's Egg Beaters". Advertisements at the time stated, "Fleischmann's has substituted yolk-like ingredients for the cholesterol packed yolk of a fresh egg." A 16 oz. package cost 79 cents in 1973. The refrigerated version was introduced in 1994. For a brief time, the company sold Egg Beaters With Yolk, which contained a small amount of yolk. The product was originally introduced by

Standard Brands Standard Brands was a packaged foods company, formed in 1929 by J. P. Morgan with the merger of: * Fleischmann Company *Royal Baking Powder Company *E. W. Gillett Company of Canada (1929) - Toronto-based baking goods company (maker of Magic Bak ...

which merged with

Nabisco Nabisco (, abbreviated from the earlier name National Biscuit Company) is an American manufacturer of cookies and snacks headquartered in East Hanover, New Jersey. The company is a subsidiary of Illinois-based Mondelēz International. Nabisco ...

in 1981 to form Nabisco Brands, Inc. ConAgra acquired Nabisco's refrigerated food business in late 1998. Egg Beaters are sometimes included as part of a heart healthy diet. Dr. J. David Spence, a professor of neurology and

clinical pharmacology Clinical pharmacology has been defined as "that discipline that teaches, does research, frames policy, gives information and advice about the actions and proper uses of medicines in humans and implements that knowledge in clinical practice". Clinic ...

at Western University and a cholesterol researcher, has recommended Egg Beaters for people who are at high risk for heart attacks and strokes.

Variations

Egg Beaters are sold frozen or refrigerated in various size containers and seven varieties, Original, 100% Egg Whites, Garden Vegetable, Cheese & Chives, Southwestern Style, Three Cheese, and Florentine. Most contain no fat or cholesterol, and all provide substantially less

food energy Food energy is chemical energy that animals (including humans) derive from their food to sustain their metabolism, including their muscular activity. Most animals derive most of their energy from aerobic respiration, namely combining the carbohy ...

(calories), fat, and cholesterol than whole eggs.Eggbeaters website-Coompare to Shell Eggs
Accessed January 22, 2011

References

External links

* {{ConAgra Conagra Brands brands Eggs (food) Products introduced in 1972