From Fox News article (Does the Color of Eggs Mean Anything?; 11 January 2025):
"Foods that are high in xanthophyll and carotene, which are basically pigments called carotenoids, will make nice dark orange egg yolks," she said.
Carotene is found in orange-colored foods, she said, such as carrots, mangoes, cantaloupe and pumpkins.
Xanthophyll can be found in leafy green vegetables, like spinach and kale.
But while a darker egg yolk does not mean a chicken is eating a nutritious, organic or fresh diet, "it likely will correlate, since the foods with the pigment are also packed with other nutrients," she said.
Which is why many folks want to buy pasture-raised eggs, especially from small farmers.
But Big-AG can't lose a single dollar. So what do they do?
Even so, feed companies and commercial egg farms have discovered workarounds to create a darker egg yolk without these nutrient-dense foods, Steele said.
These companies "have gotten smart and realized that consumers want to see that bright orange yolk, so they'll add things like marigold, paprika, sea kelp, corn [and] alfalfa to 'artificially' boost the yolk color," she said.
Anything to make money; deception be praised and damn the consumer.
