Shelf Life of Fowl Fresh Eggs Stored in Locally Fabricated Egg Pack Kept in Different Storage Conditions

Abstract

Background: Poultry egg is an excellent source of high quality proteins, lipids, minerals, vitamins, water and carbohydrates. Unfortunately, it is perishable in nature hence the quest for storage conditions that will prolong the shelf life yet maintains the nutritional quality.
Objective: Although several techniques to store fresh eggs have been reported, little is known about using airtight packs. Therefore, this study evaluated the quality of fresh eggs kept in airtight packs stored at different environmental conditions.
Methods: Fabricated egg packs were used in storing 30 fowl fresh eggs each in the Freezer, Kitchen and Sales-outlet for 30 days. Data on temperature, egg weight and spoilage were collected and subjected to descriptive statistics and ANOVA at 0.05.
Results: Kitchen and Sales-outlet temperature varied from 32 – 41oC and 30 – 34oC, accordingly but that of Freezer was not determined. Eggs stored in the Freezer (14.58g) and Kitchen (13.92g) lost more weight, compared to 5.31g recorded in the Sales-outlet. Percentage egg weight loss was highest (23.65%) in the Freezer, followed by 22.6% (Kitchen) and 8.38% (Sales-outlet). Even when all (100%) the eggs in the Freezer cracked, they were observed to maintain normal albumen/yolk colour and viscosity without offensive smell. While all the eggs (100%) stored in the Kitchen spoilt, 20 eggs (66.7%) in the Sales-outlet had normal albumen/yolk colour and viscosity without rotten smell.
Conclusion: Consequently, use of airtight pack in storing fresh fowl eggs, maybe feasible in prolonging the shelf life.