Qualidade de ovos de galinhas caipiras da região de Teresina-PI em diferentes condições de armazenamento

Abstract

The poultry industry, especially egg production, is crucial to the economy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of eggs from free-range hens from Teresina, Piauí, under different storage conditions. A total of 100 eggs were distributed in a 2x2x5 factorial design, with 2 temperatures (room and refrigerated), 2 packaging (cardboard and Styrofoam), and 5 storage periods, totaling 20 treatments with 5 replicates. The analyses included: yolk index (IG%), yolk weight (g), yolk percentage (g%), albumen index (AI%), albumen weight (g), albumen percentage (ALB%), Haugh unit (HU), shell weight (g), shell thickness (μm), shell percentage (SHELL), specific gravity (SG), and percentage of weight loss (WPL). Storage influenced several variables, including YOLK g, SHELL g, IG, AI, HU, ESC, SG, and WPL. The refrigerated temperature showed better results in SHELL g, IG, AI, UH, GE and PPO. There was interaction between the storage period and the temperature for YOLK g, AI, IG, UH and PPO. Refrigerated eggs maintained higher quality, with the preservation limit date of 29, 25 and 23 days for IG, AI and UH. Styrofoam packaging stood out for better preserving the quality of the eggs, with less weight loss. It is concluded that refrigerated storage and Styrofoam packaging are essential to maintain the quality of the eggs for up to 29 days.