The effects of animal fat treatment and storage conditions on avian egg quality, as well as the acceptability of fat-treated eggs for producers and consumers

Abstract

The avian egg is a source of food that is nutritious, economical and versatile. Egg quality is a general tenn denoting a range of physical and chemical properties that optimise the value of eggs for various purposes. The present study was conducted to examine effects of animal fat treatment and storage conditions on egg quality, as well as to detemline the acceptability of fat-treated eggs for producers and consumers. A total of 960 eggs were used in the study. Eggs were collected randomly from Hi-Sex birds at a poultry faml in Bloemfontein-East. The age of the birds ranged between 34 and 72 weeks. Two studies were conducted and for each study 480 eggs were used. The first study was conducted in the winter season and the second was conducted during the summer season. After eggs were collected, they were weighed in grams and numbered. Eggs for treatment were rubbed with fat in the palm of a hand and they were stored in the cardboard boxes and the plastic bags for four weeks. Eggs were funher kept in mud and cement-brick huts. Every week ten eggs from each treatment were weighed to detennine the weight loss during storage, then broken into a flat plate to measure albumen height and to estimate the yolk index and the Haugh unit value. The results showed that with time in storage there was a deterioration of egg quality. The mean mass difference of fat-treated eggs was statistically significantly different from the control eggs. The statistically signifi cant difference was observed for the mean mass difference, albumen height, yo lk index and Haugh unit of fat-treated eggs when compared with the control eggs that were stored in the mud hut (p<0.05). The results further indicated that the mean mass difference of poultry fat-treated eggs was statisticall y significantly different from eggs that were treated with beef fat (p<O.05). The storage of eggs during winter exhibited a small decline in egg quality when compared with those that were stored in summer (p<O.05). Of the respondents 83% sa id that they would coat avian eggs with fat and 82% said they would eat fat-treated eggs. Moreover, of the respondents 75% mentioned that the lack of a cooling facility would not deter them from producing avian eggs. The practice of fat treatment could thus be an economicall y important method for marketing eggs at farm level in areas where cold storage and ideal facilities are impractica l.