Diet plays an important role in maintaining health. Among the different pro
ducts delivering essential nutrients to the body, an egg has arguably a spe
cial place, being a rich and balanced source of essential amino and fatty a
cids as well some minerals and vitamins. This paper focuses on the benefits
to the consumer of improving the nutritional quality of eggs by enhancing
levels of anti-oxidants and n-3 fatty acids such as docosahexaenoic acid (D
HA). The advantages of simultaneous enrichment of eggs with vitamin E, caro
tenoids, selenium and DHA include better stability of polyunsaturated fatty
acids (PUFA) during egg storage and cooking, high availability of such nut
rients as vitamin E and carotenoids, absence of off-taste and an improved a
nti-oxidant and n-3 status of people consuming these eggs. Having reviewed
the relevant scientific literature it is concluded that "designer eggs" can
be considered as a new type of functional food. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science
Ltd. All rights reserved.