Egg quality of commercial laying hens stored at different temperatures and periods

Abstract

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the quality of eggs from commercial laying hens stored at different temperatures and periods. A total of 140 eggs from commercial laying hens of the Hy-Line Brown strain at 59 weeks of age were used in the study. These were stored in commercial cardboard packaging under two conditions: refrigerated (refrigerator, n=60) and shelf (room temperature, n=60) for 7, 14 and 21 days. Twenty eggs were also used for egg analysis on the day of laying. The minimum and maximum temperatures were checked daily, with a variation of 2.7 °C to 7.5 °C in the refrigerated environment, and from 21.8 °C to 26.8 °C at room temperature. The variables evaluated were egg weight (g), albumen height, Haugh unit, resistance (kgf) and shell thickness (mm). Characteristics such as egg weight, shell strength and shell thickness were maintained, however, albumen height and Haugh unit were influenced by the storage method. It was also observed that there is a high correlation between albumen height and Haugh unit (variables benefited by refrigerated storage), as well as between shell thickness and strength. It is noted in the present study that eggs kept under refrigeration maintained their characteristics after 21 days of storage, therefore, it is recommended that the consumer preferably consume fresher eggs or those that were conditioned under refrigeration.