Effect of ultrasound treatments on quality characteristics of table eggs during refrigerator storage

Abstract

Ultrasound was used as a green technology to preserve food and food products. So, an experiment was conducted to compare three periods of ultrasound treatment of table eggs, 1, 2, and 3 minutes, using a conventional ultrasound device, in terms of quality characteristics, which included yolk height, yolk diameter, yolk index, white height, yolk weight, percentage and egg components percentage during 0, 1, 2, 4, and 8 weeks of refrigerated storage. A total of 240 fresh table eggs (red-shell eggs) were collected randomly from a flock of 20,000 Lohmann laying hens at Al-Amir Commercial Project Farm in Al-Musayyab city, Iraq. The eggs were divided into 4 treatments (60 eggs/treatment); T1: control, T2: ultrasound for 1 min. T3: ultrasound for 2 min. and T4: ultrasound for 3 min.  The results of quality characteristics showed no significant differences between treatments up to two weeks of storage, then significant differences appeared in yolk height, yolk diameter, yolk index, white height, yolk weight of the ultrasound treatments eggs compared with control treatment which recorded the lowest quality characteristics after refrigerator storage for 2, 4, and 8 weeks. The second and third treatments (treatment with ultrasound for 1 and 2 minutes) recorded the best egg yolk height, yolk diameter, yolk index, white height, yolk weight and percentage, and egg white weight and percentage. Concluded that treating table eggs with ultrasound for 1 or 2 min. didn’t affect internal quality characteristics of table eggs during storage in the refrigerator.