HRP20030795A2 - Sterilized, surface-treated eggs, and process for its preparation - Google Patents

Description

Field of invention

The invention is from the field of food technology.

The invention relates to a method for disinfecting eggs and surface treatment of eggs, and to eggs prepared by this method.

State of the art

Due to possible salmonella contamination, eggs and dishes prepared from eggs are considered dangerous food, which can have a significant toxic effect on the body of the person who consumes them. Therefore, when preparing eggs and egg-based products, producers must use healthy products.

Currently, disinfected eggs or pasteurized liquid eggs are used as starting materials. The use of disinfected eggs on a large scale began in the second half of the 90s of the last century. The disadvantage of any disinfection procedure when preparing this product is that the pathogenic organisms of the eggshell are destroyed, while possible contamination of the internal contents can be prevented by following the hygienic procedures of adequate cooling and heat treatment, which is used in the process of cooking technology. Pasteurized liquid eggs - which have been used for decades - are the safest solution, since inherent microorganisms are destroyed during the preparation of this product due to heat treatment. But this starting material cannot be used for the preparation of all egg-based products, so in many cases eggs with shells are required. In this case, it is preferable to use disinfected eggs.

The three main structural parts of an egg are the yolk, the white, and the eggshell. The eggshell is fully developed in the bird's uterus, and its primary task is to mechanically protect the inside of the egg. The egg membrane is made of several layers (mammillary junction, spongy layer), and the last outer layer is the epidermis. The epidermis, which plays a significant role during egg laying as a lubricant, is secreted in the bird's uterus. After the egg is laid (laid), it dries and blocks the pores of the egg, which provides protection against microorganisms. But during the disinfection of eggs, most of the protective layer is loosened or destroyed, and as a result, the protection is interrupted, thereby increasing the risk of contamination, and reducing the storage time.

Currently, three different procedures are used to disinfect eggs, and the procedures are based on the use of gas (ozone), cold disinfection with an aerosol (Anios 2R) or a disinfecting solution. In recent times, gas or cold aerosol disinfection procedures are the most preferred. The cold aerosol procedure, although very effective, can only be used in a hermetically sealed space, which was made exclusively for that purpose, and the disinfectant used in this procedure is toxic to the human body. Although microorganisms are killed during gas disinfection, the outer envelope is also damaged, so as a consequence and in accordance with the facts mentioned above, later contamination can easily occur, which also reduces the useful life.

In addition, the mixing of farmed or chicken eggs with eggs that have been treated does not happen due to their appearance, which is a reason for the user to be skeptical about their quality. Another problem on the part of the user is that if he wants to apply the procedure with the purchased eggs with the greatest possible utilization, then the trays with eggs must be separated and ventilated, so that the eggs can be used even after several days. Since the disinfection of eggs must be carried out immediately before use, in a room built specifically for this purpose to avoid subsequent contamination, the sale of disinfected eggs with a 14-day guarantee is considered a limit, which is very popular among users who insist on maximum safety. At the same time, there is a constantly growing need for reliable surface-treated eggs with a longer shelf life, which has multiple advantages from the point of view of technological and logistical procedures.

Solution of a technical problem with examples of implementation

This invention relates to the development of a new disinfection process, which eliminates the disadvantages of currently known disinfection processes, which provides reliably surface-treated eggs with a longer shelf life than the shelf life of eggs disinfected by well-known methods, which can be easily stored, without additional work.

This task is solved by a process in which the washed eggs are coated with a layer similar to the natural protective layer mentioned above, resulting in disinfected eggs that can easily be kept for 3 weeks at room temperature. A further advantage of this procedure is that it can be performed at the level of small production, manually, which does not require additional mechanization, so investment costs are minimal.

The method according to the present invention comprises steps

- selecting eggs

- egg turning

- disinfection of eggs

- egg pulling

- drying eggs i

- egg packaging.

Below, the individual stages are explained in more detail.

Egg selection

At this stage, cracked, broken and other abnormal eggs were removed, or after cleaning, scraped eggs were also removed, and at the same time the eggs were sorted according to their weight. Eggs that are suitable for disinfection are sorted into four categories, according to their weight (S, M, L, XL), which also enables separation according to the category of goods.

Egg turning

At this stage, the eggs that were selected and categorized were placed in plastic boxes with indentations, which were later used to disinfect and dry the eggs.

Egg disinfection

Eggs prepared according to the steps described above were disinfected using standard disinfection procedures. The procedure was carried out in three stainless steel basins: first, the eggs were placed for 5 minutes in 40°C, 2% (by weight) sodium hypochlorite solution (2 parts of 10% (by weight) sodium hypochlorite solution was mixed with 98 parts of water), then placed in a pool with clean water, after which they were washed with a stream of water. The quality of disinfection was randomly checked with litmus paper, so the eggs were left for a short time to dry.

Coating the egg surface

Eggs from the previous stage, which are not dry, but moist (the surface is not dry, but not uniformly moist) are coated with a substance that creates a protective coating. The time period between disinfection and coating the eggs has no effect on the quality of the eggs, because after disinfection, during the preparation of the coating material and the appropriate solutions, the eggs become moist, which is good for coating. In the coating stage, the eggs are immersed in the coating solution, which is placed in one container, so the entire surface of the egg is exposed to the solution.

Egg drying

The eggs obtained in the previous step were left to dry. During drying, the coating substance dries, but it only provides the necessary protection if the eggs are turned once during drying. Drying can sometimes be accelerated by blowing with warm air.

Egg packaging

At this stage, it is important to emphasize that only absolutely dry eggs can be used. In the final stage, the disinfected, surface-treated eggs are placed in plastic containers (without recesses), similar to paper plates. This procedure is also the final control, because there is a possibility to remove damaged eggs (cracked, broken), so as a result, the consumer gets really intact eggs. Three plates each are covered with foil in such a way that the eggs are maximally protected, but at the same time their ventilation is achieved. The packaging cannot be completely closed, because in this case the eggs are compressed, which results in a decrease in quality. The resulting packages were placed in cardboard boxes, labeled and the boxes were closed. Boxes of different sizes were used for packaging, so packages of 90, 180 or 360 eggs can be made in this way.

Example 1

The following solution was used for coating:

Coating substance: edible wheat starch

Solvent: water

Preparation of the solution:

0.85 kg of wheat starch and 10 liters of water were measured. Starch was homogeneously mixed with a part of cold water, so the obtained suspension was continuously added, with constant mixing, to the second part of water, while boiling. The resulting suspension was boiled with slow heating until a thick substance was formed. The mass was filtered into a basin with 30 liters of warm water, thus obtaining a warm solution that was used for coating.

Eggs prepared using the method described above have an excellent shelf life.

The tables below compare the microbiological values of untreated eggs and eggs treated with the method of this invention.

The tables below compare the microbiological values of untreated eggs and eggs treated with the method of this invention.

Table 1

Microbiological values of eggs disinfected by the traditional method, after 25 days

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HST: Hungarian standard

Table 2

Microbiological values of eggs disinfected by the method of this invention, after 25 days

[image]

HST: Hungarian standard

It is evident from the above table that the microbiological values of eggs prepared by the method of the present invention are better than those eggs treated by traditional methods.

days, which is the shelf life of eggs that have been treated with traditional methods. It should also be emphasized, as can be seen in the tables, that the eggs have satisfactory microbiological values even after 25 days. The great economic advantage of the product produced according to the method of this invention is that the shelf life is valid at room temperature, unlike the products produced so far, so cold storage is not necessary to preserve the quality of the product.

Claims (6)

1. Method for preparing disinfected, surface-treated eggs, characterized by the fact that it includes the procedure by which the egg is covered with a protective layer after disinfection, which is similar to the protective layer that forms after egg laying. 2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that it includes the following stages: - selecting eggs - egg turning - disinfection of eggs - egg pulling - drying eggs i - egg packaging. 3. The method according to claim 1 and 2, characterized in that a solution of edible wheat starch is used as a protective layer. 4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that a solution of edible wheat starch, made in water, is used for the application of the protective layer. 5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that the solution made of 0.85 kg of edible wheat starch and 40 liters of water is used for applying the protective layer. 6. Production of disinfected and surface-protected eggs, indicated by the fact that it is carried out in accordance with requirement 1.