Effect of Egg Washing on Quality and Safety - Essay Example

"Effect of Egg Washing on Quality and Safety" is an excellent example of a paper on food and nutrition. 
According to the US Dept. of Agriculture, consumers should not at any point wash an egg as this may increase the chances of contamination. This is due to the sucking of water inside the egg through its pores found in the shell.  In the process of laying eggs, the shell forms as a protective layer for the egg. Thus, the US government only allows the eggs graded by USDA to be washed and sanitized using specific compounds approved by the FDA. Since the egg passes through the same passage as feces, the egg may contain bacteria. This is the reason for the importance of washing eggs (USDA). Many countries do not allow the washing of eggs, especially the European Union. This is because there are some concerns that the process of washing may damage the egg cuticle (Leleu et al 1649). The goal of this report is to find out whether the washing of eggs has any effect on the egg’s quality and whether there is a guarantee of safety when consuming a washed egg.

Materials and methods

For the study, there was a random collection of 260 white and 260 brown eggs. The origin of the eggs was not the same. The white ones came from 55-week old classic layers from Sweden and the brown ones came from 60-week old Hisex Warren layers from Belgium. The eggs were not treated and were packed in boxes during the whole process of transporting and storing them until the washing and testing (Leleu et al 1650).

Half of both the white eggs and the brown eggs were washed three days and five days respectively after they were laid. According to Arvanitoyannis (350), the eggs need to be cleaned in a separate area from where the rest of the eggs are being stored to reduce risk of any bacterial contamination. A government-approved packing station was responsible for washing the eggs under temperatures of between 400C - 450C. The washing was a combination of brush and jet washing. After washing, they were rinsed at 430C - 480C and dried using a forced-air system for drying. The whole process took place within a span of 55 seconds. The eggs were then placed on cardboard trays. The washing detergents were Suma Nova L6 t and Suma Select A7 maintaining a 10 - 11.5 pH. The eggs were later on transported for cuticle staining for the assessment of their ultrastructure (Leleu et al 1650).

The cuticle staining took place for 100 eggs from each type of egg both washed and unwashed. To stain an egg, it was immersed in an aqueous solution for 1 min. the solution contained 2.8 g of Green S and 7.2 g of Tartrazine. Before drying, the eggs were rinsed to eliminate excess dye. A calorimeter was responsible for quantification of the eggs by measuring the differences in the colours of the eggshells at four different points around the egg’s equator before and after the staining process.  For the ultrastructural assessment, 30 eggs were selected from each group. A circular saw that had a diamond tip aided in removing a 1-cm section of the eggshells around the equator. The sections were viewed using Scanning Electronic Microscopes (SME). To assess the cuticle coverage, the researchers performed a two-sample t-test that was one-sided (Leleu et al 1651). 

Results

After the cuticle staining, all the calculations for both the white and brown eggs showed no statistical difference between washed and unwashed eggs. For the ultrastructural assessment, the calculations also showed no significant difference between washed and unwashed eggs of either the brown or the white eggs. There was even cuticle coverage in 13 of the eggs tested, in which most were brown. In around 56.6% to 83.3% of the eggs, there was occasional or very patchy cuticle coverage. The pores were visible in 63.3% to 76.7% of all the eggs assessed. Almost one of the eggs tested had been contaminated heavily with debris. SME allows shell damage from washing to be critically appraised. In most of the eggs assessed, (63.3% to 86.7%), there was no cuticle damage. The white and brown eggs were distributed proportionally in all categories and there was no statistical difference between the washed and the unwashed eggs ((Leleu et al 1651). 

Discussion

The eggs collection was purposely from old laying hens because cuticle thickness decreases as the hen continues to age and the study needed eggs with the worst-case scenario possible. The researchers considered the cuticle coverage poor regardless of origin or treatment. The exposed pores in the study were because there were no cuticles in the beginning. Even in cases where the cuticle was present, there were no noticeable changes resulting from washing. The debris present resembling dust originated from the packaging process. Additionally, the unwashed eggs did not have more debris on the surface than the washed ones. Combining jet and brush washing ensured that there was no mechanical damage. Both the cuticle staining results and the ultrastructural assessment agreed that the washing did not affect the cuticles in any way. The conclusion was that there was no evidence suggesting that the washing changed the quality of the cuticles. The conclusion was valid for both the white and the brown eggs ((Leleu et al 1653). 

Recommendations

It is very important for the eggs to clean before consumption. This is due to shell contamination especially by a disease like a salmonella (ICMSF 292). Moreover, the study shows that proper cleaning has no effect on the egg’s quality. According to Acton, UV light can also decontaminate eggshells without damaging them.