HDR1012000150010502971500Egg Products                                           
                                                                                
Released May 2, 1997, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS),   
Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture.  For             
information on "Egg Products" call Tom Kruchten at (202) 690-4870, office       
hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET.                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                  Shell Eggs Broken Up 4 Percent                                
                                                                                
Shell eggs broken totaled 120 million dozen during March 1997, up               
4 percent from March a year ago.  Regional percentage changes were: North       
Atlantic, up 3; North Central, up 4; South Atlantic, down 8; South Central, up  
6; and Western, up 22.                                                          
                                                                                
March 1997 contained 21 weekdays and five Saturdays, the same as March 1996.    
                                                                                
Inspected liquid egg products used in processing amounted to 241 million        
pounds during March 1997, up 3 percent from March the previous year.            
Ingredients added in processing totaled 8.63 million pounds, up 6 percent from  
a year ago.                                                                     
                                                                                
Inspected liquid egg production for immediate consumption and processing        
during March totaled 173 million pounds, up 3 percent from the March 1996       
production of 168 million pounds.                                               
                                                                                
Inspected frozen egg production during March, at 26.1 million pounds, was down  
15 percent from the 30.5 million pounds produced during March 1996.             
                                                                                
Inspected dried egg production during March was 11.2 million pounds, an         
increase of 15 percent from a year ago.                                         
                                                                                
Data presented in this report were compiled from inspection reports of the      
Food Safety and Inspection Service.  The best available data at time of         
publication was used.                                                           
               Shell Eggs Broken:  Federally Inspected, by Region               
                        and United States, March 1996-97                        
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                   :           :         Form in Which Broken         :         
                   :           :--------------------------------------:         
     Month and     :   Eggs    :             Edible Liquid            :Inedible 
      Region       :  Broken   :--------------------------------------: Liquid  
                   :           :  Whole  :  White  :  Yolk   : Total  :         
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                   :1,000 Dozen  ---------------- 1,000 Pounds ---------------- 
 March 1997        :                                                            
   N Atlantic      :   20,775    20,018     4,770     2,361    27,149     1,895 
   N Central       :   78,307    60,204    27,040    14,702   101,946     7,874 
   S Atlantic      :    7,582     4,454     3,368     1,897     9,719       829 
   S Central       :    6,498     3,644     2,647     1,264     7,555     1,036 
   West            :    7,101     5,065     2,225     1,213     8,503       625 
                   :                                                            
   US              :  120,263    93,385    40,050    21,437   154,872    12,259 
                   :                                                            
 March 1996        :                                                            
   N Atlantic      :   20,121    20,068     4,241     1,725    26,034     1,713 
   N Central       :   75,636    56,120    27,832    15,173    99,125     7,453 
   S Atlantic      :    8,279     4,655     3,838     1,915    10,408       982 
   S Central       :    6,105     3,982     2,385     1,324     7,691       711 
   West            :    5,816     3,714     2,113     1,286     7,113       508 
                   :                                                            
   US              :  115,957    88,539    40,409    21,423   150,371    11,367 
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                
              Inspected Liquid Eggs:  Usage and Ingredients Added               
                 in Processing, United States, March 1996-97 1/                 
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Month and     :  Whole  :  Whole  :         :  Yolk   :  Yolk   :         
        Item        :  Plain  :  Blends :  White  :  Plain  :  Blends :  Total  
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                    :                       1,000 Pounds                        
 March 1997         :                                                           
   Liquid Eggs      : 102,293    56,121    55,347    10,928    16,438   241,127 
   Ingredients Added:       0     6,914       105         0     1,614     8,633 
                    :                                                           
 March 1996         :                                                           
   Liquid Eggs      :  97,416    52,466    55,434    11,025    17,588   233,929 
   Ingredients Added:       0     6,369        99         0     1,710     8,178 
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                
                                                                                
            Inspected Product:  By Form as Distributed in Commerce,             
                       United States, March 1996-97 1/ 2/                       
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Month and     :  Whole  :  Whole  :         :  Yolk   : Yolk    :         
        Item        :  Plain  :  Blends :  White  :  Plain  : Blends  :  Total  
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                    :                       1,000 Pounds                        
 March 1997         :                                                           
   Liquid           :                                                           
     For Immediate  :                                                           
      Consumption   :  38,227    35,762    11,467    1,830    9,947      97,233 
     For Processing :  43,906     7,534    17,343    5,840    1,239      75,862 
     Total          :  82,133    43,296    28,810    7,670   11,186     173,095 
                    :                                                           
   Frozen           :   8,533    10,088     3,189       90    4,193      26,093 
                    :                                                           
   Dried            :   3,028     2,670     3,005    1,415    1,052      11,170 
                    :                                                           
 March 1996         :                                                           
   Liquid           :                                                           
     For Immediate  :                                                           
      Consumption   :  34,033    35,654    10,044    1,909    9,503      91,143 
     For Processing :  44,038     5,839    18,905    5,628    2,315      76,725 
     Total          :  78,071    41,493    28,949    7,537   11,818     167,868 
                    :                                                           
   Frozen           :  11,547    11,159     3,146      528    4,149      30,529 
                    :                                                           
   Dried            :   2,049     2,124     2,861    1,241    1,417       9,692 
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1/  Includes reinspections of egg products.                                    
 2/  Includes all non-egg ingredients added.                                    
                                                                                
       Egg Products Inspected:  Shell Eggs Broken and Products Produced,        
                  United States, October 1 - March 31, 1996-97                  
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                         :                 Period               
                                         :--------------------------------------
                    Item                 :   Oct 1, 1995-    :   Oct 1, 1996-   
                                         :   Mar 31, 1996    :   Mar 31, 1997   
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                         :              1,000 Dozen             
                                         :                                      
 Shell Eggs Broken                       :      692,957             753,090     
                                         :                                      
                                         :              1,000 Pounds            
 Edible Liquid from Shell Eggs Broken    :                                      
   Whole                                 :      527,977             565,033     
   White                                 :      238,975             266,372     
   Yolk                                  :      121,503             139,583     
                                         :                                      
   Total                                 :      888,455             970,988     
                                         :                                      
 Inedible Liquid from Shell Eggs Broken  :       68,878              74,153     
                                         :                                      
 During Processing                       :                                      
   Liquid Eggs Inspected 1/              :    1,359,592           1,491,962     
   Ingredients Added in Processing       :       45,244              51,350     
                                         :                                      
 Product Produced for Immediate          :                                      
  Consumption and Processing 1/ 2/       :                                      
   Liquid Product Produced               :                                      
     Whole Plain                         :      451,814             499,657     
     Whole Blends                        :      223,826             244,190     
     White                               :      181,393             187,596     
     Yolk Plain                          :       47,103              52,607     
     Yolk Blends                         :       62,589              70,370     
                                         :                                      
     Total                               :      966,725           1,054,420     
                                         :                                      
   Frozen Product Produced               :                                      
     Whole Plain                         :       78,560              70,879     
     Whole Blends                        :       65,719              62,784     
     White                               :       21,829              23,746     
     Yolk Plain                          :        1,053               1,049     
     Yolk Blends                         :       26,215              27,089     
                                         :                                      
     Total                               :      193,376             185,547     
                                         :                                      
   Dried Product Produced                :                                      
     Whole Plain                         :       11,372              14,858     
     Whole Blends                        :       13,942              15,578     
     White                               :       15,493              18,545     
     Yolk Plain                          :        8,540               9,374     
     Yolk Blends                         :        6,553               8,963     
                                         :                                      
     Total                               :       55,900              67,318     
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1/  Includes reinspections of egg products.                                    
 2/  Includes all non-egg ingredients added.                                    
                                                                                
Data Sources:  Data for the "Egg Products" report are obtained from Grading     
               Volume Reports (Form PY-240) completed by inspectors of the Egg  
Products Inspection Division, Food Safety and Inspection  Service (FSIS), USDA. 
FSIS is responsible for administering a mandatory inspection program for egg    
products under the authority of the Egg Products Inspection Act of 1970.  The   
Act and its associated Regulations require that all commercial egg breaking and 
processing plants operate under continuous USDA supervision.  Reports are       
currently received from approximately 80 plants.  Plant management provides     
monthly volume data to the resident USDA inspector at the applicable plant.     
                                                                                
                                                                                
Procedures and Reliability:  FSIS reviews plant data for accuracy and           
                             completeness and provides NASS a data file.  NASS  
reviews the data for unusual values.  The egg products estimates are based on a 
census of all commercial egg breaking and processing plants, therefore, there   
are no statistical estimation and sampling errors.                              
                                                                                
Liquid eggs transported from one official plant to another for reprocessing must
be reinspected by the USDA inspector at the receiving plant.  Since the volume  
is reported for each inspection performed, the total liquid eggs inspected may  
exceed the actual total of liquid eggs produced.                                
                                                                                
Data in the "Inspected Product:" table are finished products available for      
distribution in commerce.  The finished egg products (packaged for distribution)
may have been processed in a subsequent reporting period following the period in
which the eggs were reported as broken.  Therefore, the data may not be         
comparable in any given month.                                                  
                                                                                
                                                                                
Regional Listing:                                                               
                                                                                
North Atlantic = CT, ME, MA, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT.                            
North Central  = IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, NE, ND, OH, SD, WI.                
South Atlantic = DE, FL, GA, MD, NC, PR, SC, VA, WV.                            
South Central  = AL, AR, KY, LA, MS, OK, TN, TX.                                
West           = AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NM, NV, OR, UT, WA, WY.            
                                                                                
The next "Egg Products" report will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET on June 4,      
1997.                                                                           
                                                                                
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disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program         
information (braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact the USDA     
Office of Communications at (202) 720-2791.                                     
                                                                                
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D.C., 20250, or call 1-800-245-6340 (voice) or (202) 720-1127 (TDD).  USDA is   
an equal employment opportunity employer.                                       
                                                                                
                                                                                
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