Mongolian egg producer Tumen Shuvuut recently began marketing selenium-enhanced eggs to tackle widespread selenium deficiency, which is a serious public health problem in the country due to its selenium-deficient soils.

Mongolia’s Ministry of Health and the Public Health Institute of Mongolia are strongly in favour of the plan, which is being seen as one way to increase the population’s selenium intake through enriched foods.

A trial of selenium-enriched eggs was launched in July of last year by Tumen Shuvuut, one of the largest poultry producers in Mongolia, using an organic source of selenium called Sel-Plex^® from Alltech.

The trial was deemed a success, and now Tumen Shuvuut is selling selenium enriched eggs in supermarkets across Mongolia.

Selenium, which is nutritionally essential for humans, is a constituent of more than two dozen selenoproteins that play critical roles in reproduction, thyroid hormone metabolism, DNA synthesis, and protection from oxidative damage and infection. The selenium enrichment process takes place when an animal is fed an approved source of organic selenium, providing natural enrichment of the food product.

“Based on trials conducted with our flock using Sel-Plex, the research reports showed that the 0.5 gpm-enriched eggs were more likely to offset selenium deficiency in the Mongolian population,” said Bold Jigjid, CEO of Tumen Shuvuut. “We were very satisfied with the outcome of the two-year trial with Alltech, and we look forward to producing eggs that will benefit the Mongolian people.”

The enriched eggs have been available for purchase in local supermarkets since late December.