Study Confirms Quality of US Speciality Egg Brand
US - The quality of retail shell eggs was maintained over time for a speciality brand that specifies production practices and micronutrient supplementation of layer diets, according to a new study.One nationally marketed brand of specialty eggs (brand A), which employs strictly defined production, processing and storage practices in conjunction with specific vitamin and mineral supplementation of laying hen diets, was identified in a recent survey administered by the USDA to consistently exhibit superior egg quality compared with other brands of eggs.
In a paper in Journal of Applied Poultry Research, H.K. Burley of Pennsylvania State University and the former chief of the Grading Branch of USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service, C.L. Johnson, outline an evaluation of brand A eggs compared with generic eggs.
This confirmed the results of this prior study in finding that brand A eggs had higher albumen height, Haugh unit values and yolk colour scores on average, and that brand A albumen height and Haugh unit values also declined at a slower rate to 45 days post-packaging compared with generic eggs.
The stringent guidelines outlined for hen nutrition and egg processing that are followed by the marketing company of brand A eggs were shown in this study to improve and maintain effectively the quality of retail shell eggs over time, concluded Burley and Johnson. They stated that this is beneficial both to the profitability of companies that produce eggs in this manner and to consumers who purchase these eggs.
Reference
Burley H.K. and C.L. Johnson. 2013. Market survey of quality and freshness of eggs produced under an enhanced hen nutrition and egg production program. J. Appl. Poult. Res. 22(4):929-933. doi: 10.3382/japr.2013-00765
Further Reading
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