Influence of Production Systems and Egg Processing Strategies on the Quality, Safety, and Nutrient Composition of the Egg and Egg Products
A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Poultry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2022) | Viewed by 3632
Special Issue Editors
Interests: poultry and egg
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The egg industry is growing at a worldwide rate of approximately 1.4% annually. Cage production is still a component, but today’s growth centers on alternative production systems such as cage-free or range egg production. Contributing to this growth is consumer concerns about the impact of the cage environment on laying-hen well-being. In the United States, the transition from conventional cages to cage-free production systems is happening three times faster than the time taken to transition to cages originally. Commercial egg producers are responding by producing eggs in cage-free and range settings. However, one of the current issues is that our knowledge base of how these alternative production methods influence hen nutrition and production, along with egg quality, safety, and nutrient composition, is limited. Research studies conducted in the late 1950s and through to the early 1970s changed the way we handle eggs and processing strategies. This information was collected using breeds of hens that no longer exist, and not with the modern lines of poultry that have been selected for their lower body weights and very high rates of egg production. When selecting birds destined for cage-free production, breeding companies seek hens that are more productive, which has led to challenges in processing strategies. Thus, an examination of alterative laying hen nutrition in the context of the current knowledge base would provide beneficial information to identify how feeding practices translate to modern strains of laying hens under cage-free or range production. Research on range or cage-free production done in controlled settings is limited, and additional studies relevant to egg producers wishing to expand cage-free and range egg production are needed.
Egg packing, processing, and refrigeration requirements vary by country, and supporting research for these requirements has been conducted by researchers from around the world. Early egg washing research was conducted using immersion washers with no temperature control over the water. The results from the research conducted later using non-immersion washers revealed that contamination that occurred during immersion washing did not occur during non-immersion washing. Research has also shown that other parameters such as water temperature, wash water pH, egg cooling, and/or refrigerated storage can also provide additional safety hurdles. Egg safety is a key factor that must be considered, from production through to packing or further processing. Recent research has begun to explore alternative approaches in the integrated process in order to improve the safety, quality, and nutritional and functional properties of eggs.
The aim of this Special Issue is to present research and reviews on the impacts of production systems and egg processing strategies on the quality, safety, and nutrient composition of eggs and egg products.
Prof. Patricia Curtis
Prof. Ken Anderson
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- eggs
- production systems
- nutritional and functional properties of eggs
- egg processing strategies
- laying hen welfare
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