Yet Another Reason to Raise Your Own Chickens

AdsoneggsThat’s right, advertisements for TV shows.

On your eggs.

I am not making this up.

I’ve written before about EggFusion, a company that has developed a laser etching technology that allows eggshells to be engraved with, say, an expiration date or other information.

But then it occurred to the execs at CBS that there was a moment in our day that was not already dominated by television and advertising:  that moment that we spend cracking an egg into a bowl.

Fresh, commercial-free eggs.  Ah, those were the good old days.

More on the technology involved from the New York Times.

Mr. Parker said the destination of eggs was tracked so precisely that he envisioned being able to offer localized advertising, even aiming at specific ZIP codes, to promote events like local food festivals and concerts. He is setting aside a portion of the ads for charities, too, he said.

The imprint is applied in the packaging plant, as the eggs are washed, graded and “candled,” or inspected for flaws, when the eggs are held by calipers and moved along a production line at 225 feet a minute. Right before an egg is packaged, laser light is applied to the shell, giving it the etching.

Each imprint takes 34 milliseconds to 73 milliseconds, so the processing of eggs is not appreciably slowed down, Mr. Parker said. The etching is ultrathin, to a depth of 50 to 90 micrometers, or 5 percent of the shell’s thickness.

The imprint cannot be altered without breaking the shell, Mr. Parker said, in contrast to Europe, where ink is used to apply expiration dates on eggs.

Link: www.nytimes.com.