Eggshell calcium: A cheap alternative to expensive supplements

Background: Since prehistoric times, eggs have been used as a food source by human beings. Eggs are not only a good source of nutrition, but their shells also have many nutritional and non-nutritional components. A huge amount of eggshell waste is generated globally, and these eggshells are rich source of minerals especially calcium. Scope and approach: Calcium carbonate comprises more than 90% by weight of an eggshell. Current review highlights how to minimise eggshell waste by extracting and utilizing its calcium for food fortification and manufacturing calcium rich food sources. It also explains how calcium from eggshell can be extracted through techniques such as electric discharge assisted mechanical milling, high intensity pulsed electric field, pulsed electric field and high energy milling. Key findings and conclusion: This review further focuses on the utilization of eggshell in food industries which ultimately would reduce the global burden of eggshell waste to some extent.