92D-16 |
Quality of dehydrated whole egg packaged for retail sale in No. 10 cans |
T. A. GNADT1, L. V. Ogden, and O. A. Pike. (1) Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Science, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602 Dehydration reduces egg mass and increases shelf-life without significantly affecting most functional properties. This has created a demand for dehydrated whole egg in military rations, emergency relief programs and personal storage. However, the buyer is often unaware of product quality until long after purchase. The purpose of this study was to investigate the quality of several brands of dehydrated whole egg packaged in No. 10 cans and labeled for retail sale. Eight brands of dehydrated whole egg were obtained from food retailers. All but 1 brand were labeled as having a low oxygen environment. A 50 member consumer panel evaluated appearance, aroma, flavor, texture, and overall acceptability using a 9-point hedonic scale. Other observations included color of egg solids, can headspace oxygen, can seam quality and water activity. Hedonic scores for overall acceptability ranged from 3.5 to 6.3, indicating wide variation between brands. Appearance, flavor and texture scores mirrored overall acceptability scores. A significant difference in Hunter L values was observed, with two brands visibly brown in the dry solid state as well as after reconstitution and cooking. Headspace oxygen ranged from 0.21 to 20% with half of the brands having > 2% oxygen. Water activity ranged from 0.16 to 0.42. The brand which scored highest in overall acceptability had 19% headspace oxygen, which would have a detrimental effect on shelf life. Although all samples were purchased immediately before the study, can codes indicated a 3 year age difference between brands. This was reflected in panel results. The quality of dehydrated whole egg available for retail sale varies widely, as does the level of can headspace oxygen. Manufacturers need to adhere to good manufacturing practices and buyers should be aware of product variability between brands of dehydrated whole egg.
Session 92D, Quality Assurance: General
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