Abstract
Egg quality has been widely studied, mainly because defects in quality can pose risks to public health, as well as economic losses.Nevertheless, studies about fungiin eggsare scarce. The objective was to compare the fungal microbiota from washed and unwashed eggs in the rainy season and dry season of the year. This exploratory research consisted in the analysis of large size white table eggs acquired from 48 different lots. Two manufacturers were sampled considering the main characteristic of washed or unwashed eggs. From each lot, a 30-egg pack were purchased and six of those eggs were used for mycological analyzes. The eggs were analyzed externally with 0.1% peptone salt solution wash of the eggshells and internally with aliquots being sampled from a pool made from the six eggs content. Samples were inoculated in Potato Dextrose Agar and isolated colonies were passed to test tubes. When sporulated, the isolates were subjected to decimal dilutions using 0.1% Tween 80 to dissociate the conidia. Microcultures were carried out for optical microscopy observation of the reproductive structures of fungi, stained with lactophenol. Aspergillusspp. was the most frequently isolated fungi isolated, with A. nigerand A. flavuspredominant in the dry season, while A. fumigatusand A. terreusin the rainy season. Low numbers of fungi were identified from egg shells, with a higher amount from unwashed eggs. The seasondid not influence the numberof fungi in eggs, despite having influenced the fungal diversity.
Highlights
The chicken egg has proteins whose nutritional characteristics meet almost all human requirements, due to its content rich in vitamins, minerals and fatty acids
The samples consisted of table eggs of the white type and large size, purchased from supermarkets of Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
Most molds and yeasts grow best at temperatures between 25 oC and 30 oC (CAFARCHIA et al, 2014), the temperatures verified in the present work are at the ideal range for the growth of these microorganisms
Summary
The chicken egg has proteins whose nutritional characteristics meet almost all human requirements, due to its content rich in vitamins, minerals and fatty acids. These substances together are capable of preventing various diseases of interest to the consumer population, which is why their consumption has been boosted in recent years (SANTOS et al, 2015). Washing the eggs before they are packaged is very common, despite the unquestionable improvement in the appearance of the product, this process can speed up the contamination of the egg content, due to the removal of the protective film that covers it, the cuticle (GOLE et al, 2014). The eggs must be washed only by mechanic methods, in a continuous and fast process, using water at a maximum of 10oC higher than egg temperature and with a maximum of 50 ppm chlorine, being dried immediately after washing (BRASIL, 1990)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
