An Evaluation of Interior Quality of Shell Eggs Packed in the Carton While Still Warm 1

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1 LEO AND FOOT ABNORMALITIES 461 faulty bone formation. Animal Nutrition and Health, 22: Nairn,M. E., Astudy of infectiousosteomyelitis and synovitis of turkeys. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN. Nairn, M. E., and A. R. A. Watson, Leg weakness of poultry A clinical and pathological characterization. Aust. Vet. J. 48: Norris, L. C., Observations on the current turkey leg weakness problem. Animal Nutrition and Health, 25: Steel, R. G. D., and J. H. Torrie, Principles and Procedures of Statistics. McGraw-Hill Publishing Co., New York. Swarbrick, O., Leg weakness in turkeys associated with deformity of a digital bone. Vet. Rec. 79: An Evaluation of Interior Quality of Shell Eggs Packed in the While Still Warm 1 D. B. MELLOR 2 AND F. A. GARDNER 3 Department of Poultry Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas (Received for publication July 2, 1974) ABSTRACT The interior quality of shell eggs packed in cartons was compared with that of eggs pre-ed prior to cartoning. Five carton types were used for a two-week refrigerated storage period. After two weeks, there was no difference in weight loss between the two methods of packing. Eggs packed in molded pulp cartons lost more weight than those packed in plastic foam cartons. There was no difference in interior quality between pre-ed and cartoned eggs after two weeks of refrigerated storage. POULTRY SCIENCE 54: , 1975 INTRODUCTION MODERN egg handling equipment and systems are making it possible to deliver shell eggs to the consumer much faster than in past years. Also with the advent of in-line production-processing equipment, the practice of pre-ing eggs prior to cartoning becomes more expensive. The ing of eggs prior to packing as practiced on farms for many years was a simple procedure when eggs were hand gathered from nests or from cage rows and immediately placed in the er. Overnight ing aided in quality retention, better blood 1. Approved as Technical Article No Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, Texas A&M University. 2. Texas Agricultural Extension Service and Texas Agricultural Experiment Station. 3. Texas Agricultural Experiment Station and Texas A&M University. spot detection and assisted in the work organization of the farm. However, with in-line equipment, the pre-ing of eggs prior to packing requires the extra handling associated with removing, ing and returning the eggs to the system or the construction of in-line ing tunnels. Either operation may add more to cost than is gained by the efficiency of this in-line system. Warm packing of eggs has never been a recommended procedure. However, Bauermann et ai. (1969) reported no deleterious effects on quality when tray packed eggs were cased. Lentz and Fletcher (1968), however, have shown that cartoned eggs cased and packed on pallets may take as long as 10 to 14 days to to 12 C. from a 24 C. temperature after leaving the washer. Excessive heat has always been known to be detrimental to egg quality. However, Vadehra et al. (1969) reported that a dry heat pasteurization (60 C. for four hours) assisted

2 462 D. B. MELLOR AND F. A. GARDNER in the maintenance of interior egg quality as measured by. Two egg storage trials were conducted to compare the rate of quality loss of pre-ed and cartoned eggs. MATERIALS AND METHODS Eggs were obtained during summer months from two commercial flocks, 31 and 59 weeks of age. Eggs from each age flock constituted one trial. Eggs, laid between 8:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m., were hand gathered from the cage rows and were then visually scored to eliminate dirties, checks, thin shells and to assure that selected eggs were as uniform as possible in size. Eggs were not washed and a maximum size variation of 10 grams was obtained for each trial. After selection at the farm, eggs were trayed, cased and transported to the laboratory for random assignment to treatments. In each trial, one-half of the eggs was placed in a 12 C. er for 24 hours prior to cartoning. Eggs from the remaining half were cartoned immediately after arrival at the laboratory, cased in 15 dozen cases and immediately placed in the same er. s used were: front-fold paperboard, frontfold molded pulp, front-fold plastic foam, center-fold plastic foam and a molded pulp having six circular openings in the top which exposed part of each egg. TABLE 1. Weight loss (gram/egg) for pre-ed and cartoned shell eggs after storage at 12 C. for 14 days in five carton types Treatment 59-Week-Old Flock Treatment "* "* Weight loss (gram/egg) " ".46"*.44".43".32".30".57"*.57".57".42 b.39" * Within each age group, overall treatment or carton with the same letters do not differ significantly (P S 0.05). TABLE 2. Haugh unit values for shell eggs cartoned and non-cartoned eggs after one day storage at 12 C. Initial Non-cartoned Warm-cartoned 86.67"* 76.05"* b b c b * Within each age group, overall treatment with the same letters do not differ significantly (P g 0.05).

3 WARM VS. COOL EGG PACKING 463 Two dozen eggs for each carton type were selected for measurement on the day of collection to obtain an initial value for each group. and weight loss measurements were obtained from two dozen eggs for each of the 10 treatment groups following 1, 4, 7 and 14 days of storage. Data obtained were subjected to analysis of variance and differences among treatment were analyzed by Duncans multiple range test. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Weight Loss. Weight loss during the two week storage period was minimal, about onehalf gram per egg (Table 1). There was no 87r 85j0 83 CO b 8I => 79- X (D 77 Q 73 LU 5 7, 1 k 69 UJ \S ^ \ \ \. ^s ^ vx sn ^ COOLED PRIOR TO CARTONING WARM CARTONED 31 WEEK OLD FLOCK 59 WEEK OLD FLOCK II DAYS IN STORAGE J t FIG. 1. Interior egg quality decline in pre-ed and cartoned shell eggs after storage at 12 C. for a two week period for eggs from two ages of layers.

4 464 D. B. MELLOR AND F. A. GARDNER difference in weight loss between eggs cartoned and eggs ed prior to cartoning. There was, however, a significant difference among carton types in weight loss in eggs from both age groups of chickens. Plastic foam cartons decreased weight loss of eggs during the two-week storage period. This result can be attributed to the carton type and construction material since the carton offering the greatest sealing effect would decrease moisture loss from the egg during storage. Interior Quality. After one day of storage, packed eggs had a lower Haugh unit value than the ed eggs, with both ages of hens. However, only in the younger flock was this difference significant (Table 2). In both and packs, Haugh unit values were significantly lower after one day of storage than on the day of lay. Egg storage data were analyzed by standard methods of regression analyses. The regression equations relating to the logarithmic function of time in storage for the cartoned and pre-ed eggs for both the and the 59-weekold flock are presented below. : FLU. = (log[days + 1.0]) HTJ. = (logfdays + 1.0]) : HTJ. = (log[days + 1.0]) HAL = (logfdays + 1.0]) Although differences in the rate of quality loss during a 14 day storage period (Figure 1) were not statistically significant and difference between the one day scores of cartoned and cartoned eggs were significant only in the case of eggs from the younger flock (Table 2), the following trends were noted during breakout. At the time of cartoning the packed eggs (one-day, post oviposition), they were of a higher interior quality than those eggs cartoned prior to ing. However after a short storage period TABLE 3. Haugh unit values for pre-ed and cartoned shell eggs after storage at 12 C. for 14 days in five carton types Treatment Treatment "* "* " " 71"* 74" 72" 73" 75" * Within each age group, overall treatment with the same letters do not differ significantly (P 0.05). 64"* 64"

5 WARM VS. COOL EGG PACKING 465 TABLE 4. Haugh unit values for pre-ed and cartoned shell eggs from flocks of two ages and stored at 12 C. for selected time periods Initial 1 day 5 days 8 days 14 days Initial 1 day 4 days 7 days 14 days the interior quality of the cartoned eggs was greater than that of the eggs ed prior to cartoning. This same effect was noted in eggs produced by both the 31 and the 59 week old birds. After two weeks of storage, no differences in quality were apparent between the treatments nor among the carton types (Table 3). Similar results were obtained from Haugh unit values obtained on four and seven days of storage (Table 4). From these results, it is apparent that cartoning does not cause an accelerated interior quality breakdown in eggs marketed within two weeks of lay. to Great Britain, Norway, Sweden, Australia, Korea and Japan. His program included studies related to rapeseed and he gave several presentations on Canadian research related to rapeseed oil and meal, and their use in livestock and poultry feeds. N.I.P.F.D.A. NOTES The Man of the Year Award of the National Independent Poultry and Food Distributors Association was presented to J. Manaster, J. Manaster Company, Chicago, Illinois, during the Fact Finding Conference. He was cited for his efforts on behalf of the poultry industry during the past 50 years. NEWS AND NOTES (Continued from page 456) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Assistance with statistical analysis by Mr. James H. Denton and Mrs. Isabelle Lee is gratefully acknowledged. REFERENCES Bauermann, J. F., J. Bezpa, R. M. Grover and O. F. Johndrew, Jr., The effects of pre-ing and packing on interior egg quality. Poultry Sci. 48: Lentz, C. P., and D. A. Fletcher, Effect of ing rate on egg white quality. Can. Inst. Food Technol. J. 1: Vadehra, D. B., R. C. Baker and H. B.Naylor, Effect of dry heat on internal quality of eggs. Poultry Sci. 48: GEORGIA NOTES Dr. Roger D. Wyatt joined the faculty of the Department of Poultry Science, University of Georgia, as Assistant Professor of Poultry Science, effective June 1, He is a native of North Carolina and received B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from North Carolina State University. Dr. Wyatt has authored or co-authored 20 publications in the area of mycotoxins of poultry. At the University of Georgia he will continue to conduct research in his field of specialization. He is a member of the American Society of Microbiology, Poultry Science Association, Alpha Zeta, (Continued on page 474)

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