Egg and Eggshell Quality

Covering age, environment - both internal and external to the shell, and disease, this volume describes factors affecting structure and strength of the shell. It discusses shell faults observed both on farms and in packing stations and their effects on the physical measurements of shell quality.

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The recent egg crisis has focused attention on the need to define and improve eggshell quality. Following the recent outbreak of public concern about the egg as a potential source of food poisoning, breeders, producers and packers have had to address the need for more stringent quality control measures. The integrity of the shell is a vital barrier against disease and must be maintained. At the same time, it is important that the form of analysis used to define quality is as accurate as possible in order to avoid unnecessary loss. In this book Dr Solomon describes the factors affecting the structure and strength of the shell. Covering age, environment, both internal and external to the shell, and disease, the author illustrates shell faults commonly observed both on the farm and in the packing station and highlights their effect on the physical measurements of shell quality. Only recently has it become possible to measure and grade eggshell strength accurately. The author and her team have pioneered and perfected sophisticated new techniques in the measurement of egg strength which are presented in this work.
From the "candling" techniques first used in the 1920s to the sophisticated computer simulations of today, this book aims to show the best and most accurate methods by which shell quality can be observed and measures.