Food and beverage manufacturers had to get creative in the midst of a virus causing large losses of domestic poultry. The avian influenza virus, also known as bird flu, infected much of the Midwest flocks, which resulted in drastic egg shortages and significant price spikes.
In order to continue product formulation and distribution, the virus forced many food and beverage manufacturers to examine their egg dependency and seek alternatives for partial and full egg replacements that offered equal nutritional value and function. This process can be challenging due to the high functionality egg proteins possess.