Avaliação da perda de qualidade de ovos comerciais de diferentes sistemas de criação armazenados em temperatura ambiente

Abstract

Internal egg quality is influenced by several factors, including the laying hen's rearing system and storage conditions. This study aims to evaluate the loss of internal egg quality in commercial eggs from different production systems stored at room temperature. One hundred and twenty large brown eggs were purchased from supermarkets in the city of Uberlândia, with the date of manufacture as close as possible to the date of purchase, maintaining the batch size by egg type. A randomized complete block design was used with four treatments and three replicates of ten eggs each, totaling 30 eggs per treatment. The treatments consisted of brown eggs from hens raised in conventional cages, cage-free, free-range, and organic systems. The storage period was considered zero for the day after purchase and 15 and 30 days later, when the eggs were stored at room temperature. The following parameters were evaluated: egg weight, specific gravity, percentage of yolk, albumen, and shell, shell thickness, yolk color, and Haugh Unit (HU). The results showed that organic eggs had higher HU values and shell percentage, indicating better preservation of internal quality, while free-range eggs had the lowest HU values and shell percentage, partly due to longer shelf life. Cage-free eggs achieved the highest egg weight, albumen percentage, and yolk color, results also observed in free-range eggs. Conventional eggs, on the other hand, stood out for their thicker shell, although they weighed less than the others. It was concluded that the organic system was the most efficient in preserving egg quality.