Egg Quality Index: A more accurate alternative to the Haugh unit to describe the internal quality of goose eggs

Abstract

Enhancing goose production for human consumption requires evaluating the quality of goose eggs based on their physical characteristics. Grounded on the theoretical and experimental studies, we developed two calculation formulae that enabled the computation of Egg Quality Index (EQI) as an alternative to the widely used Haugh unit (HU) score in assessing goose egg quality. In addition to the egg weight (W) and the height of thick albumen (H), this computation takes into account the indicators for the yolk, i.e., its diameter (d) and height (h). Depending on the research preferences when measuring d or h, one of the two proposed calculation equations can be employed. Using simulation methods that considered all possible combinations of W, H and d values, we created and analyzed a database of virtual goose eggs. As a result, we found that the use of EQI as compared to HU seems preferable due to the possibility to evaluate a greater number of options and nuances of variation in quality characteristics in goose eggs. The proposed novel index for defining the goose egg quality can be a promising and useful tool for linking structure and functionality in goose eggs and for further application in food and poultry industries.