Giant Food Adopts Etched Eggs for Safety

CARLISLE, Pa. -- Giant Food Stores and Martin's Food Markets are rolling out a tamperproof measure of egg freshness that is readily observable to shoppers: freshness dates and tracking codes etched into the shells of all store-brand and Nature's Promise eggs at the Ahold-owned chains' stores.

"Food safety is becoming a national priority, and this partnership is one more way that Giant can provide important food safety information to our customers," said Giant Food v.p. dairy Steve Fanion, of the program the grocer launched in partnership with Deerfield, Ill.-based EggFusion and local suppliers. "We are committed to providing our customers with freshness every day. The introduction of freshness dates and tracking codes eliminates the guesswork and easily informs customers if the eggs in their refrigerator are fresh."

The USDA-accepted marking process, which the partners said has been proved safe to both consumers and the egg, places a permanent groove on the surface of the eggshell, using laser light. The markings include an expiration date for each egg, displayed in a month/day format, and a tracking code that permits customers to find out when and where the egg was packed by visiting www.GiantFreshEgg.com.

In the near future Giant will also employ EggFusion's On-egg Messaging, which allows messages to be featured on the eggs, in addition to the freshness dates and tracking codes. A combination of eggs featuring the Giant logo and eggs with messages from a charity will roll out to stores.

Giant Food operates stores in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia under the names of Giant Food Stores and Martin's Food Markets.

Founded in 2001, EggFusion offers the only USDA-accepted solution for applying permanent, tamperproof freshness dating and tracking codes to eggshells. The method uses patent-pending laser-marking technology.
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