According to Takehiko Hayakawa, DSM Nutritional Products Asia Pacific's regional species lead (APAC, layer), YolkFan Pro will also measure broiler skin and shank colours. With the updated system, saved data is automatically uploaded to a cloud database system from which users can visually analyse data on smart devices or a computer.

"We provide this innovative tool and system programme only for (customers of the) Carophyll brand, who meet certain requirements as part of our customer service and business partnership. DSM YolkFan Pro's programme supports the improvements of egg product quality and customer reliability as well as value-added eggs," Hayakawa said.

He noted egg yolk colour as a key quality factor - other than freshness and the roundness of the egg white or yolk "in terms of internal egg quality" - and a measurable aspect that YolkFan was designed for.

"Egg yolk is greatly affected by the carotenoid content in the poultry feed, and also depends greatly on the health condition of the chicken and the feed intake. Therefore, egg yolk colour is a parameter that receives many inquiries from distributors and general consumers because it is easy for human eyes to see the difference due to these effects," Hayakawa explained.

On the continuing development of YolkFan, he elaborated: "In 2016, (YolkFan) was added a 16th blade number to accommodate a request from several markets which are getting dark egg yolk colour (that is popular). During the same period, the development project of the digital YolkFan started in cooperation with NIX, a company in Canada."

"A traditional blade type of DSM YolkFan is very easy to handle but it requires skill to make precise measurements...results tend to be subjective. The digital (version of) YolkFan is a foolproof measurement tool to address these challenges," Hayakawa added.