Laser Etching Advertisements on Eggs

From the Denver Post and ColoradoBiz Magazine...

It's not often that an idea can change an industry for the better, but when former New York stockbroker Bradley Parker saw a television program on the dangers of bad eggs in 1998, he began searching for a way to ensure the eggs he bought were fresh.

Thus began EggFusion, a Deerfield, Ill.-based company that aims to promote freshness and deliver ads through etching on eggs.

After six years of research with Boulder-based technologists, EggFusion began using laser light to permanently apply freshness and traceability coding, as well as advertisements, to individual eggs. Unlike current freshness coding on egg cartons, etching is tamper-proof and stays with the egg even after it is removed from the carton.

The etching process, which only penetrates 5 percent of the shell (between 50 and 90 micrometers), is the only USDA approved etching solution for eggs and provides consumers and retailers with "peace of mind," said EggFusion's chief operating officer Scott Burns.

"We don't allude to creating a fresher, better product," Burns said. "We clearly state it — we gather the information about the processing environment to hold people more accountable and to provide peace of mind."

Read the full story at ColoradoBiz Magazine.