Conservation of the internal quality of eggs using a biodegradable coating

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of a pectin biofilm on the preservation of refrigerated and unrefrigerated eggs during 5 wk of storage based on egg weight loss, albumen height, Haugh unit (HU), and the yolk index (YI). A total of 1,200 nonfertile eggs from GLK Bankiva laying hens (40 wk of age), which were freshly laid and came from a single collection, were obtained from a model poultry rearing system (Planaltina, Federal District, Brazil) that meets all animal welfare criteria. The experimental outline was entirely randomized, with 20 treatments in a factorial scheme of 2 × 2 × 5, with 2 biofilm treatments (with and without) × 2 storage temperatures (refrigeration: 5°C and ambient: 25°C) × 5 storage periods (7, 14, 21, 28, and 35 d), with 12 repetitions per treatment. Starting from the third storage week, increased weight loss (%) was observed in noncoated eggs (4.46 ± 1.06; 5.61 ± 1.37; 6.93 ± 1.66%) compared with biofilm-coated eggs (3.57 ± 1.26; 4.74 ± 1.8; 6.05 ± 2.21%), respectively. The HU variation in the pectin-coated eggs (86.84-78.02) was smaller than that in the noncoated eggs (83.01-64.36) between the beginning (7 d) and the end (35 d) of the experimental period. Eggs with and without biofilm stored in the refrigerator presented average HU values of 91.26 ± 6.27 and 88.35 ± 6.96, respectively. In contrast, when kept at room temperature, eggs with the coating presented higher HU values (71.27 ± 10.78) than eggs without the coating (59.11 ± 15.97). Coated eggs (0.37 ± 0.16) showed higher YI values than noncoated eggs (0.35 ± 0.16). A pectin-based biofilm effectively maintained egg quality during the 35 d of storage.