METHODS OF EVALUATION AND DETERMINING FACTORS OF THE PHYSICAL, CHEMICAL AND SENSORY QUALITY OF EGGS

Chicken eggs are highly nutritious and much appreciated by many people. They are accessible, easy to use in various ways, and rich in high-quality proteins, lipids, vitamins, and minerals essential for our health. Their quality is directly dependent on biological, zootechnical, environmental, and technological factors throughout the production chain. Egg quality assessment should be conducted in an integrated manner, considering physical, chemical, nutritional, and sensory parameters to estimate the product's freshness, safety, and acceptability. Physical quality involves external aspects of the shell, such as resistance, thickness, porosity, and integrity, as well as internal characteristics, including albumen consistency, yolk firmness, and air cell size, and is extensively monitored by methods such as the Haugh Unit and albumen and yolk indices. Chemical and nutritional quality provides an overview of the composition of the lipid profile, cholesterol content, vitamins, minerals, and proteins, and can be influenced by the diet of laying hens and storage conditions, while indicators such as the pH of the egg white and yolk reflect changes associated with carbon dioxide loss and egg aging. At the same time, sensory characteristics, such as appearance, aroma, flavor, and texture, play a fundamental role in consumer acceptance. They directly reflect the product's physical quality and chemical stability. Pre-harvest factors, such as genetics, age, nutrition, health, and animal welfare, combined with post-harvest factors, including collection, storage, transport, processing, and packaging, determine the maintenance of quality over time. Thus, controlling these aspects is fundamental to guaranteeing the quality, food safety, and commercial value of eggs.