Study of retail egg supply chain for quality in relation to level of sanitization andfarm of origin

Abstract

In the present cross-sectional study, eggs collected from retail outlets were analyzed for physicochemical and microbial quality. Comparisons were made between "sanitized" (cleaned, sanitized, and retailed after packaging) and "unsanitized" (not subjected to cleaning, sanitization, and packaging) retail table eggs that originated from "commercial" and "backyard" (eggs retailed loose without any cleaning, sanitization, or packaging) farms. A total of 1120 eggs collected from retail markets were analyzed for physicochemical (weight, shell thickness, shape, yolk index, albumen index, Haugh unit, color, and pH) and microbial (total viable count, and yeast and mold counts) characteristics. Eggs collected from retail markets were found to significantly differ with respect to weight, shell thickness, yolk index, albumen index, Haugh unit, yolk color, and total viable counts (P < 0.01), but not shape index, pH, or yeast and mold counts. Discriminant analysis corroborated the categorization of table eggs and results of the present study showed differentiation of origin of table eggs based on physicochemical characteristics whereby processed eggs possessed better microbial quality attributes than unprocessed and backyard eggs. Processing of table eggs encompassing hygienic handling, cold storage, and treatment of eggs would deliver wholesome eggs to the consumers through the retail table egg supply chain.

Hedonic Price of Free-Range Eggs in Costa Rica

“…In contrast to Yenice et al (2016), other researchers found that conventionally produced eggs have better attributes of aroma, consistency, yolk color, flavor, and texture (Terčič et al, 2012). Even that the microbiological and dioxin counts of eggs produced under the pasture system are higher than those found in conventional eggs (Chilur Omkarappa et al, 2019;Guier-Serrano et al, 2022;Molnár & Szollosi, 2020), a situation that could affect the price in the retail market.…”