AUSTRALIANS ARE EATING MORE THAN TWICE AS MANY EGGS AS THEY DID 30 YEARS AGO

New figures show Australians are now eating a record 282 eggs per person a year, up from around 135 three decades ago

SYDNEY, Oct. 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Australians are eating more than twice as many eggs as they were three decades ago, according to figures released today by Australian Eggs to mark 30 years of World Egg Day.

Consumption has reached 282 eggs per person a year, up from approximately 135 in 1996 and 267 last year. That is an extra 147 eggs a year for every Australian, meaning consumption has more than doubled over a period in which almost everything else about the way Australians eat has changed.

"Reaching 282 eggs per person is a real milestone for the industry, but the more interesting story is the trajectory," says Rowan McMonnies, Managing Director of Australian Eggs. "Thirty years is long enough to see a genuine shift in behaviour, and eggs have gained ground steadily through every food trend of that period."

"Part of that is practical. Eggs are quick, they suit any meal of the day and they work at any level of cooking ability. The other factor is that the nutrition conversation has shifted decisively in favour of eggs."

The single biggest change over those 30 years has been in how eggs and nutrition are understood.

For decades, eggs were treated with caution because of their dietary cholesterol, and many Australians grew up being told to limit how many they ate. The evidence has since evolved. A randomised controlled trial published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2025, led by researchers at the University of South Australia, tested the effects of dietary cholesterol and saturated fat separately. In 61 adults whose LDL cholesterol was already below 3.5 mmol/L, eating two eggs a day within a low saturated fat diet did not raise LDL, the type of cholesterol commonly called bad cholesterol because it can build up in the artery walls. Saturated fat, not dietary cholesterol, was the factor that moved the numbers.

Australian guidance has moved with it. The Heart Foundation no longer sets a limit on the number of eggs healthy Australians can eat, provided they are enjoyed as part of a heart-healthy eating pattern.

"Eggs have had quite the reputation evolution," says dietitian and nutritionist Susie Burrell. "For a long time, cholesterol was the first thing people thought of when they thought about eggs. We now understand that saturated fat has a far greater influence on blood cholesterol than the cholesterol in food does."

"The bigger shift is that we have stopped assessing foods one nutrient at a time. What matters is the overall pattern of what someone eats, and eggs sit comfortably inside a heart-healthy diet."

Protein is dominating food and health conversations, and eggs have benefited from that. Burrell argues the focus is too narrow.

"Protein is important, but it is one part of the picture," she says. "It accounts for just one of the 17 different vitamins and nutrients, including vitamin D, vitamin B12, choline, selenium and iodine, found in eggs. Not many foods that simple do that much."

"Thirty years ago people were mostly thinking about what to cut out. Today the question is what to include, and that is a far better question."

How Australians cook eggs has changed as much as how many they eat. A repertoire that once ran to boiled, fried, scrambled and the occasional quiche now includes shakshuka, Korean steamed eggs, Japanese tamagoyaki and huevos rancheros, all of which sit alongside the classics on the Australian Eggs recipe pages.

"The hardest part of eating well is usually deciding what to make," Burrell says. "To take the pressure out of the decision making, we've built a spinner on the Australian Eggs website that lands you on one of 30 recipes, each with a different egg nutritional benefit attached. Helping you discover what to cook while also learning what eating eggs does for your health at the same time."

The 30 World Egg Day recipes are available to spin through at https://www.australianeggs.org.au/world-egg-day

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ABOUT AUSTRALIAN EGGS

Australian Eggs is a member owned not-for-profit company providing marketing and research & development (R&D) services for the benefit of Australian egg farmers.

SOURCE Australian Eggs