Hotels adopt eggs-traordinary measures to deal with shortages

WITH more than 60% of layer hens culled in the province following an outbreak of avian influenza, the local hospitality industry has put various measures in place to ensure it is not drastically affected by the shortage of eggs.

Economic Opportunities MEC Alan Winde said the rate of infection was slowing down considerably and there had been no new infections at commercial poultry farms since October 18.

There are 68 confirmed cases of avian influenza in the Western Cape. To date, 2.8 million poultry have died or been culled.

Federated Hospitality Association of SA (Fedhasa) Cape chairperson Jeff Rosenberg said that while members were concerned about the outbreak, every endeavour had been taken to make sure establishments were not hard hit, and that the price of egg dishes, such as breakfasts and confectionery items, were not increased as the province’s hospitality industry prepared for a bumper holiday season.

“As an industry we are deeply concerned about this outbreak and the consequences thereof. However, we can assure everyone that we have measures in place to meet the needs of guests. And we continue to weigh our options for alternatives should this escalate further,” Rosenberg said.

Establishments including the Townhouse Hotel and Events Centre in the CBD; the Vineyard Hotel in Claremont; and the Roundhouse Restaurant in Camps Bay say they are working hard to make sure egg supplies meet the demands of guests.

The Roundhouse has not included any new egg dishes on its menu and the establishment is investigating the use of eggfree alternatives as an adaptation of its breakfast menu on a Saturday and Sunday morning. The Roundhouse said increasing the price of dishes that contained eggs might be necessary, but they would not allow the increase to become unaffordable and unsustainable.

Sourcing eggs at an affordable price has been challenging for the Townhouse Hotel. In recent weeks, the establishment has increased its order to keep up with the demand. It uses around 360 eggs a day. In the event this crisis deepens, and eggs become unavailable, the establishment will make use of pasteurised eggs and dishes that contain eggs will be removed from the menu.

The Vineyard Hotel uses more than 1 000 eggs a day, and sometimes more than 1 400 eggs a day over weekends. The hotel reported that its overall egg orders had not decreased since the outbreak.

“Cape Town’s restaurants and hotels are doing very well despite the shortage. And we’d like for them to use it as a platform to come up with new, fresh ideas on how to cook and bake. During times like these, innovation is important,” Rosenberg said.

Winde said that of immedi- ate concern was the egg shortage causing further food inflation. “We are waiting for the release of price information to be published (tomorrow) by Stats SA.

“The Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy is also completing a study that will give more insights on the economic impact of avian flu.

“This study is set to be released next month,” Winde said.