Effect of different storage times on Japanese quail egg quality characteristics

Sylvie Ondruší­Ková,Roman Pytel,Vojtěch Kumbár,Šárka Nedomová,Olga Cwiková

doi:10.5219/949

Abstract

The aim of this research was to monitor selected quality parameters of Japanese quails (Coturnix coturnix japonica) - the loss of egg weight, changing yolk and white index, Haugh units, egg yolks color. Quail eggs were stored for 0, 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks at 4 °C. The weight of the quail eggs ranged from 11.67 to 12.27 g. The ratio of the shell range 7.60 to 8.16 % (resp. 0.89 - 0.96 g), ratio of egg white from 59.33 to 62.10 % (resp. 6.31 - 6.66 g) and a ratio yolk of 30.13 - 32.88 % (resp. 3.68 - 3.91 g). The lost of egg weight ranged from 0.47 to 2.93 % during the quail eggs storage, corresponding to a weight loss of 0.26 - 0.58 g of the total weight of the eggs. The average values of the yolk index ranged from 42.67 - 48.53 % and the average values of the quail egg white index ranged from 6.77 to 11.35 %. The average Haugh units were set between 56.93 and 73.72. The color of quail egg yolk was determined using the La Roche scale with the most frequent value 3. During the quail eggs storage, a statistically significant difference was found with most of the quality traits observed.

Highlights

Egg as a nutritionally balanced and digestible nutritional ingredient is one of the frequent foods appearing on the menu
The weight loss values of quail eggs increased from 0.47 % (1st week of storage) to 2.93 % (8th week of storage) which is caused when the water contained in the eggs had evaporated
El-Tarabany study (2016) indicates the range of egg yolk color in Japanese quails between 7 and 9. This contribution was focused on the change of qualitative parameters of quail eggs during storage

Summary

Introduction

Egg as a nutritionally balanced and digestible nutritional ingredient is one of the frequent foods appearing on the menu. Hen eggs are the most commonly consumed, Japanese quail eggs (Coturnix coturnix japonica) are readily available today, which are considered to be nutritionally important to consumers, mainly due to their rich vitamin and mineral content. Despite the small size (approximately 10 – 12 g), quail eggs are rich in proteins, amino acids, macro and microelements (calcium, selenium and zinc) and have low triglyceride and saturation fatty acids. Some countries have a long tradition of consuming quail eggs such as Japan, where quail eggs are considered to be almost natural medicine, especially to reduce cholesterol, blood pressure, increased immunity and allergy treatment (Baumgartner and Hetényi, 2001; Angelovičová et al., 2013). In the Czech Republic, the production of quail eggs is not as wide as it is in other countries. The most significant producer quail eggs are China, Japan, Brazil and France

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