Packer trials plastic egg trays

Egg packer Deans is considering a switch to plastic trays to overcome problems associated with the traditional pulp-type keyes tray.

The main complaint from producers is the condition that secondhand trays can arrive in on the farm, posing an obvious risk to biosecurity.

Speaking to producers at the recent series of roadshows held around the UK, Deans’ operations director Andrew Jorêt acknowledged producers concerns about secondhand trays.

“Unfortunately the equipment used for wet tray detection is not particularly reliable and it is not feasible to manually inspect the trays because they are coming off the grader at over one every second,” he explained.

Mr Jorêt also discounted the option of issuing producers with new trays each time, not only because of the cost of the tray—which is equivalent to over a penny a dozen—but also the cost of disposal under new EU rules on waste, a further consideration which is pushing Deans towards the plastic option.


But a switch to plastic trays—which cost around 30 pence each—will involve a big up-front investment and the trays will have to be washed every time they have been across the grader.

Deans is about to embark on a trial of the plastic tray and will switch the entire throughput of its Seamer packing centre in North Yorkshire to the new system. This will also involve discarding the wooden pallets used for transporting eggs. The new plastic trays will be moved around on a plastic pallet, specifically designed for the purpose and said to fit the lorries better.

successful Deans say they could be rolling out the system across all packing centres within twelve months.

But it won’t quite be the end for pulp trays. These will still be required for eggs going onto the wholesale market.