A review on egg pasteurization and disinfection: Traditional and novel processing technologies

Abstract

Salmonella Enteritidis is a pathogen related to many foodborne outbreaks involving eggs and egg products. Regulations about whether eggs should be pasteurized are very different and inconsistent worldwide. In the United States, eggs are not required to be pasteurized. Hence, less than 3% of the eggs in the country are pasteurized. The standard pasteurization method (57°C, 57.5 min) uses a long thermal process that increases the cost of the product and affects its quality. Foodborne outbreaks can be reduced if eggs are properly pasteurized to inactivate Salmonella spp. However, the technology to pasteurize eggs needs to offer a faster and more reliable method that can be scaled up to industry settings at a low cost and without affecting product quality. Several novel technologies have been tested for eggshell disinfection and egg pasteurization. Some thermal technologies have been evaluated for the pasteurization of eggs. Microwave has limited penetration depth and is a technical challenge for egg pasteurization. However, radio frequency can penetrate eggshells effectively to inactivate Salmonella, considerably reduce processing time, and maintain the quality of the product. Nonthermal technologies such as ultraviolet, pulsed light, cold plasma, ozone, pressure carbon dioxide, electrolyzed water, and natural antimicrobials have been explored for surface cleaning of the intact egg as alternatives without affecting the internal quality. This review presents some of these novel technologies and the current challenges. It discusses the possible combination of factors to achieve the egg's internal pasteurization and the eggshell's disinfection without affecting the quality at a low cost for the consumer.

Precise, Sensitive Detection of Viable Foodborne Pathogenic Bacteria with a 6-Order Dynamic Range via Digital Rolling Circle Amplification

“…Heat treatment is a common food sterilization method, but it requires a balance between bactericidal efficiency and nutrient retention . Pasteurization provides an effective approach to ensure food safety and extend shelf life while maximally preserving the flavor and nutritional substances in food .…”

Agitation of liquid eggs during ohmic heating pasteurization—Experimental and computer simulation study

“…As an economical food with high nutritional value, hen eggs are widely used in food processing (Uysal et al, 2017). Unfortunately, disease outbreaks caused by Salmonella infection of raw eggs continue to pose a public health threat (Bermudez‐Aguirre & Niemira, 2023). Conventional pasteurization methods (mainly hot water and humid air processing) have been widely applied in the egg processing industry.…”

“…Conventional pasteurization methods (mainly hot water and humid air processing) have been widely applied in the egg processing industry. Unfortunately, it requires long time which might affect the egg quality besides incurring high costs (Bermudez‐Aguirre & Niemira, 2023).…”

“…Novel thermal pasteurization technologies, including microwave (MW), radio frequency (RF), and ohmic heating (OH), based on the volumetric internal generation of heat, have shown the advantages of faster heating, reduced processing time, and quality maintenance of liquid eggs compared to conventional thermal pasteurization methods, in which heat is applied from an external source (water, air) (Bermudez-Aguirre & Niemira, 2023). However, some shortcomings of these methods have been reported, such as nonuniform heating during MW due to the different water concentrations in the shell, albumen, and yolk (Dev et al, 2008).…”