In article >,
Janet Wilder > wrote:

> Mark Thorson wrote:
> > JW wrote:
> >> I bought some of these eggs the other day. Never seen them before.
> >> Mind you, they were close to the best before date, but I've never
> >> seen dark orange yokes before. Should I be concerned?
> >
> > Only if it bothers you that the chickens were fed
> > marigold petals. This is a common practice in
> > South America, but it is also practiced in the U.S.
>
> Didn't the late Frank Perdue advertise that his chickens ate marigold
> petals? I seem to recall that from a previous life in the North.

Marigold petals are a source of the carotenoid lutein. Farmers figured
out that consumers like yellow chicken fat and orange egg yolks.
Chickens absorb lutein better than beta-carotene. Lutein is the
predominant carotenoid in the retina of the eye.

Several years ago a former student brought me some eggs from her
mother's free-range chickens. The yolks were good and dark. In
addition, the shells were sturdier than supermarket eggs. (She was
already acing my class on her own merits, so this gift was not a
kiss-up.)

Cindy

--
C.J. Fuller

Delete the obvious to email me