Raw Hen Research Articles

Knowledge and handling practices for raw hen's eggs during purchase, preparation, storage, and consumption: a cross sectional study

The study aimed to assess the hen’s eggs knowledge, handling practices, and consumption among Palestinian consumers using the cross-sectional survey design. Online questionnaire was sent via social media platforms including well-known Facebook and WhatsApp groups in West bank, Gaza and Jerusalem, along with an invitation explaining the research objectives and the voluntary participation. The online questionnaire consisted of three main sections: socio demographic, knowledge and practices for hen’s eggs during purchase, preparation, storage, and consumption. The items were developed based on previous literature and international guidelines for hen's eggs purchase and handling, and subjected to content validity process, followed by a pilot study to determine the reliability of the questionnaire using Cronbach’s alpha test. The final data were analysed based on the dichotomous Rach model for knowledge and polytomous Rasch model for practices using Winsteps version 5.1.3. The Rasch SPSS output interval data files were used in the inferential analyses tests (one-way ANOVA test and independent samples t-test). The Rasch analysis showed that on average the participants had quite low level of knowledge of hen's eggs consumption safety, (person ability Mean 0.10 logit). The item difficulty measures ranged between + 1.65 (most difficult) and − 2.24 logit (easiest). It was not easy for the participants to endorse the items pertaining their practices in handling the hen’s eggs during purchase, preparation, storage and consumption, (person ability Mean − 0.11 logit). The item difficulty measures ranged between + 2.68 logits (most difficult) to − 2.45 logit (easiest). In addition, female participants significantly outperformed males in knowledge scores; and the level of hen's eggs hygiene practices and storage during purchase depended on participants’ knowledge level. The research recommended interventional programs to enhance Palestinians’ awareness and knowledge about hen's eggs knowledge, handling practices, and consumption. Further quantitative and qualitative research studies were also recommended.

Clinical Features of Quail Egg Ingestion in Patients with Acquired Tolerance to Hen Eggs: A Case Series Study

Introduction: Patients with hen’s egg allergy are often instructed to avoid consuming other avian eggs, such as quail eggs. However, it is unclear whether patients with an acquired tolerance to hen eggs continue to avoid consuming quail eggs. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical features of quail egg ingestion. Methods: This prospective case series included children aged ≥1 year with hen’s egg allergy who were recruited between October 2019 and February 2021 in our hospital. We conducted an oral food challenge (OFC) with three boiled quail eggs to evaluate the clinical features of quail egg ingestion in patients with acquired tolerance to hen eggs. The primary outcome was a positive OFC after ingesting three quail eggs. Secondary outcomes were cross-antigenicity between hen and quail eggs observed through the skin prick test (SPT) and pattern of quail egg allergy, comprising the onset of reaction, and severity. The correlation between the diameters of the wheals with SPT in hen and quail eggs was evaluated using the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient. Results: A total of 62 patients underwent the quail egg OFC. The median (interquartile range) age of the participants was 3 (2–5) years. Thirty-three (53%) patients had a history of anaphylaxis due to hen eggs. The median total immunoglobulin E (IgE) level in patients who underwent the OFC with half a heated whole hen’s egg was 271 (98–593) IU/mL. The median specific IgE level in egg white and ovomucoid was 9.7 (3.2–21.5) and 4.4 (1.3–6.9) UA/mL, respectively. The quail egg OFC results revealed that none of the 59 patients who ate the three quail eggs completely had an allergic reaction. The SPT-positive and SPT-negative rates in raw and boiled hen and quail egg whites were both correlated. The diameters of wheals with SPT in raw hen and quail egg whites and yolks were positively correlated. Conclusion: Patients with an acquired tolerance to hen eggs may not be required to avoid consuming quail eggs.

Spent fowl as a source of unintentional egg proteins exposure in Canadian food products

The occurrence of egg proteins in products containing spent fowl manufactured under current practices was studied to assess the risk these food products may pose to egg-allergic consumers and to determine if Precautionary Allergen Labelling (PAL) was recommended. Spent fowl slaughtering and processing operations in 2 Canadian facilities were observed. Raw hen pieces (n = 134), coming from 2 facilities, and intermediate and processed products containing spent fowl (n = 57), coming from one facility, were analyzed using ELISA. All samples tested positive for egg proteins. Raw pieces were tested using a qualitative method (i.e., swabbing); estimated egg proteins concentrations suggest the presence of highly contaminated samples (>600 mg/kg in 2 hen wing samples). Swabbing was found to be efficient for rapid detection of eggs in raw hen pieces, but not for quantification. A comparison between swab and grind results showed that egg proteins concentration is underestimated by at least a factor 2 for whole carcasses and a factor 10 for breast, wings and drumsticks, when using the swab protocol. For intermediate and processed products, quantitative measurements indicate that egg protein levels were below 16 mg/kg. Additionally, 88 water samples from chiller tanks were analyzed and indicate that this step could be the cause of the global contamination observed with an increase in egg protein concentrations overtime during the production schedule. As egg contamination is not adequately controlled under the current good production practices, the use of PAL would be recommended for raw spent fowl products.

Direct Detection of Lysozyme in Viscous Raw Hen Egg White Binding to Sodium Dodecyl Sulfonate by Reactive Wooden-tip Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry.

Direct characterization of native protein binding to ligands in raw biological samples is a challenging task, because the ligand solution might induce proteins to aggregation, flocculation and denaturation. In this work, we developed a reactive wooden-tip electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) for formation and characterization of protein-ligand complexes upon rapid mixing in electrospray droplets. Raw viscous hen egg white (HEW) was directly loaded onto a wooden tip to induce spray ionization, and sodium dodecyl sulfonate (SDS) solution was directly loaded into the HEW spray by a pipette tip, and thus lysozyme-DS complexes were then formed in the electrospray droplets and were detected subsequently by mass spectrometry. The new approach was successfully applied to investigate interaction of SDS and native lysozyme in electrospray droplets of standard solution and raw egg white. Our results showed that wooden-tip ESI-MS is a promising method to form and characterize protein-ligand complexes.

Allergenicity of pasteurized whole raw Hen's egg compared with fresh whole raw Hen's egg

Oral food challenges for diagnosis and management of egg allergy using fresh egg are common; however, to limit the risk of foodborne infection, many allergy units use pasteurized raw egg. Pasteurization and drying processes have the potential to affect the structure of egg proteins in egg powder and thus the allergenicity when compared to fresh egg. Our aim was to compare the binding of serum IgE from egg-allergic children to in vitro digested and undigested pasteurized whole raw egg powder with unpasteurized fresh whole raw egg. Egg proteins from in vitro digested or undigested pasteurized whole raw egg powder, fresh whole egg, egg white and egg yolk were separated by SDS-PAGE, transferred onto nitrocellulose membrane and incubated overnight with pooled sera from egg-allergic children. In both the raw egg samples and the pasteurized whole egg powder, protein bands corresponding to known molecular weights of the major egg allergens were present. Pasteurized whole raw egg powder was bound by serum IgE in a similar manner to unpasteurized whole raw egg and was unaffected by in vitro digestion. Serum IgE also bound egg yolk, indicating sensitization to both egg yolk and egg white proteins. The main egg allergens are present in pasteurized whole raw egg powder, and serum IgE of egg-allergic children binds to them in a similar pattern to those in fresh whole raw egg. Pasteurized whole raw egg powder is a suitable substitute for raw egg in clinical practice for oral food challenges.

Comparison of Quality and Nutritional Components of Eggs from Blue Peafowl and Hen

The study was undertaken to compare the quality and nutritional components of eggs from blue peafowl and Jingbai hen. The results showed that the average egg weight, eggshell thickness and egg yolk relative weight of blue peafowl eggs were significantly bigger than those of hen eggs (<i>p</i><i> </i>< 0.01). Blue peafowl eggs contained significantly higher protein (<i>p</i><i> </i>< 0.01), higher carbohydrate (<i>p</i><i> </i>< 0.01), total amino acid and essential amino acid (<i>p</i><i> </i>< 0.01), Zn (<i>p</i> < 0.01), Ca (<i>p</i><i> </i>< 0.05) but lower fat (<i>p</i><i> </i>< 0.01) and water (<i>p</i><i> </i>< 0.05) than those in hen eggs. Amino acid content of blue peafowl eggs was in accordance with the ideals of the FAO mode. Blue peafowl eggs contained significantly higher V<SUB>C</SUB> and V<SUB>B2</SUB> (<i>p</i><i> </i>< 0.01) but lower V<SUB>A</SUB> and V<SUB>E</SUB> (<i>p</i><i> </i>< 0.01) than hen eggs. 47 volatile compounds were found in raw blue peafowl eggs while only 30 in raw hen eggs; 60 volatile compounds were found in cooked blue peafowl eggs while only 41 in cooked hen eggs. Overall, most indices of qualities and nutrient components of blue peafowl eggs were not inferior to hen eggs.

Specific oral tolerance induction with raw hen’s egg in children with very severe egg allergy: A randomized controlled trial

Treatment of severe egg allergy is avoidance of hen's egg (HE) and carrying self-injectable epinephrine. Specific oral tolerance induction (SOTI) seems a promising alternative treatment. However, some aspects of SOTI are still considered experimental. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of an original 6-month SOTI protocol in children with very severe HE allergy using raw HE emulsion. Twenty children (age range: 5-11 yr) were randomized equally into a SOTI treatment group and a control group. The treatment group started SOTI and underwent a second challenge 6 months later. Control children were kept on an egg-free diet for 6 months and then underwent a second challenge. After 6 months, 9/10 children of the SOTI group (90%) achieved partial tolerance (at least 10 ml, but <40 ml of raw HE emulsion, in a single dose) and 1 (10%) was able to tolerate only 5 ml (no tolerance). After 6 months, nine control children tested positive to the second challenge at a dose ≤0.9 ml of raw HE emulsion, and one reacted to 1.8 ml (SOTI vs. control group p<0.0001). All children in the SOTI group had side effects, but no child had a grade 5 reaction according to the Sampson grading. Six months of SOTI with raw HE emulsion resulted in partial tolerance, with regular intake, in a significant percentage of children with severe egg allergy.

Oral food desensitization in children with IgE‐mediated hen’s egg allergy: a new protocol with raw hen’s egg

Hen's egg allergy affects young children and can cause severe allergic reactions. Avoidance results in dietary limitations and can affect the quality of life, especially in cases where potentially life-threatening reactions exist. Our objective was to desensitize children with moderate-severe IgE-mediated hen's egg allergy over a 6-month period, by introducing increasing and very gradual daily doses of raw hen's egg in order to enable the children to assume 25ml of this food, or to induce tolerance to the highest possible dose. The protocol foresaw the egg reintroduction in the home setting. In this randomized, controlled open study, 20 hen's egg allergic children (10 in the active group) were admitted. A convincing history or a positive double-blind placebo-controlled food challenge confirmed the diagnosis. Oral desensitization was performed with increasing doses starting from 0.27 mg of hen's egg proteins (1 drop of raw hen's egg diluted 1:100). We adopted an original, mathematically calculated protocol in order to ensure a constant, daily increment of doses. 8/10 children (80%) in the active group achieved the daily intake of 25ml over a 6-month period. One child (10%) could tolerate up to 2ml/day while another child (10%) failed the desensitization. Six months after enrolment only 2 children in the control group (20%) could tolerate hen's egg. We successfully desensitized 8/10 children with IgE-mediated hen's egg allergy in a 6-month period. The partial outcome in the child who could tolerate 2ml/day reduced the risk of severe reactions after unnoticed introduction of egg. A regular protocol that ensures a daily constant increase of doses helps to reduce possible adverse events, thus improving safety and effectiveness.

Oral Desensitisation with Food is Food-Specific and Protein-Specific

The avoidance of food(s) is the main therapeutic approach to food allergy. Nevertheless, orally- or sublingually-administered food allergens have gained attention and a number of food-allergic children can tolerate gradually increasing amounts of cow&#x0027;s milk and hen&#x0027;s egg. Our purpose is to show that oral desensitisation with food is an allergen-specific therapeutic approach and for this, we describe 4 illustrative children with IgE-mediated food allergy. The first was allergic to cow&#x0027;s milk and hen&#x0027;s egg, the second to cow&#x0027;s milk, hen&#x0027;s egg and fish. Both underwent oral desensitisation to both cow&#x0027;s milk and hen&#x0027;s egg. The third child was allergic to cow&#x0027;s milk, hen&#x0027;s egg and fish and underwent oral desensitisation with cow&#x0027;s milk. The last child was allergic to raw but not to cooked/boiled hen&#x0027;s egg and underwent the oral desensitisation with hen&#x0027;s egg. The first 2 children reached the clinical tolerance to cow&#x0027;s milk after the cow&#x0027;s milk oral desensitisation, but reached the hen&#x0027;s egg tolerance only after the hen&#x0027;s egg oral desensitisation. Moreover, the second child did not tolerate fish after being desensitised to both cow&#x0027;s milk and hen&#x0027;s egg. The third child tolerated cow&#x0027;s milk, but not hen&#x0027;s egg and fish, at the end of the cow&#x0027;s milk oral desensitisation. The fourth child could tolerate the previously not tolerated raw hen&#x0027;s egg after the oral desensitisation with raw hen&#x0027;s egg. In conclusion, we indicate that oral desensitisation with food is allergen specific. The induction of the clinical tolerance to one food is not followed by the tolerance to the other food(s) that the patient is allergic to. To obtain a double or multiple food tolerance, separate desensitisation protocols, one for each food, have to be carried out. Oral desensitisation with food discriminates between raw and cooked proteins.

Peptic digestibility of raw and heat-coagulated hen's egg white proteins at acidic pH range

Allergenicity in food proteins is generally dependent on their heat stability and resistance to digestive enzymes together with the presence of IgE-recognizing epitopes on the molecules. Using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and immunoblotting, we assessed peptic digestibility of raw and heat-coagulated hen's egg white proteins at acidic pH range (1.5–4.0). Ovalbumin in raw egg white was slightly digested by pepsin at pH 1.5 and pH 2.0, and was almost resistant to the enzyme at pH 2.5 and over, which was altered in heat-coagulated egg white at the pH range from 1.5 to 2.5 where the protein was well digestive against the enzyme. Peptic digestibility of ovomucoid in raw egg white was good at the pH range from 1.5 to 2.5, but almost non-existent at pH 3.0 and over where the improvement of the digestibility of the protein was not found even in heat-coagulated egg white. As the stomach in new born infants shows a low amount of secretary pepsin and an out of optimum pH of peptic activity, low digestibility of ovalbumin and ovomucoid in raw and heat-coagulated egg white at over pH 3.0 is supposed to be responsible for their allergenicity and delayed outgrowth from hen's egg allergy in patients with delayed maturation of stomach functions.

Influence of Age on the Outcome of the Atopy Patch Test with Food in Children with Atopic Dermatitis

Influence of Age on the Outcome of the Atopy Patch Test with Food in Children with Atopic Dermatitis

Enhancement in the lysozyme activity of the hen egg white foam matrix by cross-linking in the presence of N-acetyl glucosamine

Lysozyme naturally present in raw hen egg white was immobilized by cross-linking the egg white foam with glutaraldehyde. Inclusion of N-acetyl glucosamine, a competitive inhibitor of lysozyme, was found to enhance the yield of lysozyme activity by fivefold.

Biotin in practical fish-meal based diet for Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L. fry

Groups of Atlantic salmon fry (0.19 g initial weight) were fed a fish-meal based starter diet with different supplements of biotin (0, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 mg biotin kg–1) in triplicate tanks for 18 weeks. The basal diet contained 0.3 mg total biotin kg–1. The experimental design included a negative control diet made by replacing 10% of the fish-meal with spray-dried raw hen's egg white. Throughout the experimental period the fish grew to about 5 g and there were no significant differences in growth and mortality among the groups of fish fed the fish-meal diets. At the end of the experiment there were no significant differences in biotin level in the liver, while whole-body biotin concentrations correlated significantly with the dietary biotin concentrations. No significant increase in pyruvate carboxylase (PC) activity was found in livers from fish given different dietary levels of biotin. The control diet with egg white resulted in severe growth reduction and increased mortality compared with the other dietary groups. The concentrations of biotin in liver and whole body were decreased in fish fed egg white. Increased levels of glycogen and reduced PC activity in the liver were observed in this group after 18 weeks. Histology of the gills showed no differences in appearance when fish were fed fish-meal based diets while the addition of egg white resulted in hypertrophy and hyperplasia of the gill tissue and extensive fusions of the secondary gill lamellae. The results show that there is no need for supplemental biotin in practical fish-meal based diets for Atlantic salmon fry to achieve optimal growth, survival and maximal liver PC activity.

The antibacterial activity of lactoferrin and neonatal E. coli infections. A selective and critical review.

In 1960, Montreuil et al.1 among others described a method for isolating and purifying an iron-chelating protein from human milk now known as lactoferrin (Lf). In their discussion they made a suggestion which we are still trying to substantiate: “une activite antibiotique vis-a-vis de certains germes pathogenes pour le Nourrisson”. The suggestion that lactoferrin is antibacterial was based on the seminal paper by Schade & Caroline in 19442. They used raw hen egg white to stabilize a bacteriophage during lyophilization and observed that its host, Salmonella dysenteriae, was inhibited by the egg white; this inhibition could be reversed by the addition of iron. After a suitable ‘incubation time’ of about 20 years, this discovery, by serendipity, became the beginning for all aspects of iron and bacterial infection and immunity, as we now know. In 1961, Hanson3 discovered secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) which eventually led to the concept of Mucosal Associated Lymphoid Tissue (MALT)—the gut and lung, mammary, salivary and lacrymal glands, and the genital tract. In addition to sIgA, secretions can also contain other non-antibody protective proteins such as lactoferrin (Lf), lysozyme (LZ), lactoperoxidase (LP) and xanthine oxidase (XO). LP is the enzyme which catalyses the bacterial activity of the lactoperoxidase-thiocyanate-hydrogen peroxide system (LP-system)4.

Validation of Short-Term Skin-Sensitizing Igg Antibodies to Egg in Atopic Dermatitis by Prausnitz-Küstner (P-K) and Oral P-K Tests

We tried to evaluate the role of IgG antibodies in the wheal and flare reaction of infantile atopic dermatitis by in vivo skin-sensitizing methods. Sera from 49 patients under 6 years of age were heated at 56 °C for 30 min to inactivate IgE antibodies, according to previous reports. Two-fold serial dilutions of the heated serum were injected intracutaneously in both forearms of a non-allergic recipient. One hour later, the whole egg antigen (1:1000) was injected in the serum transfer sites of an arm and the reaction was read at 15 min (IgG Prausnitz-Küstner (P-K) test). Immediately afterwards, a raw hen's egg was swallowed by the recipient and the serum transfer sites of the other arm were observed for 2 h (oral IgG P-K test). Three patients under 1 year of age showed an immediate wheal and flare reaction in the IgG P-K test, but none of the patients showed a positive reaction in the oral IgG P-K test. The patients with a positive IgG P-K test had an IgE radioallergosorbent test (RAST) score > 4 to egg white and a positive IgE P-K titer of > 2 8 to whole egg antigen. Two patients showed a positive reaction to the oral IgE P-K test to raw egg ingestion. Ovalbumin-specific IgG, lgG 3 and lgG 4 antibodies were assayed in 20 patients. IgG, and lgG 3 antibodies were significantly increased in two patients with a positive IgG P-K test, while levels of the lgG 4 antibody in positive patients were not significantly increased in comparison with levels in negative patients. In conclusion, these results suggest that the IgG antibody may play a role in the immediate type allergic reaction in infantile atopic dermatitis.

House Fly Larvae: Biodegradation of Hen Excreta to Useful Products

BIODEGRADATION or the use of some natural living organism to break down the hen excreta may be one practical means of solving the problem of poultry waste disposal. The work at Beltsville utilizes the house fly (Musca domestica L.) to process the raw hen excreta, producing a potential fertilizer and/ or soil conditioner and high protein feed supplement (Calvert et al., 1969a,b). Miller and Shaw (1969) have also utilized the house fly to reduce the moisture content in poultry manure.This report presents the results of experiments to establish the concentration of fly eggs that can be used to process hen excreta most efficiently, and a means of separating the house fly pupae from the processed hen excreta and to simplify their collection.The initial studies determined the number of fly eggs to use per gram of fresh excreta, the number and weight of pupae produced, weight loss during fly.

The Assessment of the Antibiotic Growth Response in the Chick

COATES et al. (1951COATES et al. (1953) reported that chicks responded to antibiotics only when they were housed in old quarters. It has been our experience that under clean laboratory conditions the response of chicks to antibiotics was not consistent. Thus, we deliberately introduced contamination in the form of raw hen feces in the diet in order to obtain consistent antibiotic response in the chick.The purpose of these studies was to develop a method for the measurement of the antibiotic growth effect in the chick suitable for use in the laboratory and thereby to examine several compounds which possess structural or bactericidal similarity to certain antibiotics.EXPERIMENTALDay-old crossbred Columbian X New Hampshire female chicks were employed. The chicks were housed in Petersime temperature-controlled batteries with raised wire floors. Feed and water were given ad libitum. Growth data were recorded at weekly intervals. The experiments were of four weeks’ duration.The …

OBSERVATIONS ON THE MICROBIOLOGY OF RAW AND HEAT‐TREATED LIQUID EGG

SUMMARY: Factors influencing the hygienic quality of raw liquid egg have been inverstigated and bacterial counts obtained during the period January–October, 1952, have been summarized. As a commercial standard of quality, it is suggested that raw liquid egg with a total bacterial count in the region of 5 × 106/g. at 22°, might be regarded as reasonably satisfactory, having regard to the quality of the raw material now permitted to be used.A study of heat‐treatment of Liquid egg has shown that a time‐temperature combination slightly in excess of 2 min. at 146°F. may be regarded as satisfactory, as it gives a 99·99% kill of the initial flora without significantly imparing the functional properties of the final product. The residual flora in herat‐treated egg has been found to be relatively inactive.Salmonella organisms were found in 4·2% of raw hen egg and in 67·4% of raw duck egg. Under controlled conditions of heat‐treatment, destruction of Salmonella species can be accomplished.