AN upgraded P300-million processing facility operated by the Batangas Egg Producers Multipurpose Cooperative (Bepco) in San Jose, Batangas, is expected to boost production and improve supply management, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said Thursday.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. visited the facility on the same day.
Tiu Laurel projected that the facility would help producers maintain steady output, reduce losses, and better manage supply.
“Food security is not only about producing enough. It is also about assuring our farmers and egg producers of stable livelihoods and incomes, while consumers have a steady supply at reasonable prices,” Tiu Laurel said.
The facility is designed to add value to San Jose’s daily output of seven to 10 million pieces, depending on the season.
San Jose is the “Egg Basket of the Philippines” by virtue of Republic Act 11707, signed in April 2022. Bepco is a key partner of the DA in the Egg Industry Development Project (EIDP).
The facility — which uses technology developed by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and funded by the DA — produces liquid and pasteurized egg products under Good Manufacturing Practices to improve food safety and extend shelf life.
Its pasteurization line can process 1,400 kilograms of liquid product, equivalent to about 28,000 50-gram egg pieces per hour. The process includes washing, breaking, separating or combining, mixing and pasteurizing under controlled conditions before packaging.
Finished products undergo quality control and microbiological testing, including checks for salmonella, before labeling and dispatch.
The facility’s upgrade was supported by a P50-million grant under the EIDP.
The DA also provided a three-story cold storage facility through another P50-million grant, with capacity for up to 80 tons of finished products. Walk-in chillers operate at zero to 4 degrees Celsius, while freezers are maintained at minus 18 degrees.
An upgraded blast freezer can accommodate egg liquid batches in three hours, compared with the standard eight hours, helping preserve product quality.
The facility also has a spray-drying operation supported by a DA grant and more than P16 million in DOST equipment loan assistance. The technology converts liquid products into powdered egg white, yolk, and whole egg, extending shelf life to as long as two years and expanding storage and market opportunities.
Latest Philippine Statistics Authority data showed chicken egg production rose 13.2 percent in the second quarter to 235,150 metric tons. The laying flock increased 7.3 percent to 80.53 million birds as of June, with layer chickens accounting for 64.7 percent of the total.
