Efficacy of electrolyzed oxidizing water for the microbial safety and quality of eggs

During commercial processing, eggs are washed in an alkaline detergent and then rinsed with chlorine to reduce dirt, debris, and microorganism levels. The alkaline and acidic fractions of electrolyzed oxidizing (EO) water have the ability to fit into the 2-step commercial egg washing process easily if proven to be effective. Therefore, the efficacy of EO water to decontaminate Salmonella Enteritidis and Escherichia coli K12 on artificially inoculated shell eggs was investigated. For the in vitro study, eggs were soaked in alkaline EO water followed by soaking in acidic EO water at various temperatures and times. Treated eggs showed a reduction in population between greater than or equal to0.6 to greater than or equal to2.6 log(10) cfu/g of shell for S. Enteritidis and greater than or equal to0.9 and greater than or equal to2.6 log(10) for E. coli K12. Log(10) reductions of 1.7 and 2.0 for S. Enteritidis and E. coli K12, respectively, were observed for typical commercial detergent-sanitizer treatments, whereas log(10) reductions of greater than or equal to2.1 and greater than or equal to2.3 for S. Enteritidis and E. coli K12, respectively, were achieved using the EO water treatment. For the pilot-scale study, both fractions of EO water were compared with the detergent-sanitizer treatment using E. coli K12. Log(10) reductions of greater than or equal to2.98 and greater than or equal to2.91 were found using the EO water treatment and the detergent-sanitizer treatment, respectively. The effects of 2 treatments on egg quality were investigated. EO water and the detergent-sanitizer treatments did not significantly affect albumen height or eggshell strength; however, there were significant affects on cuticle presence. These results indicate that EO water has the potential to be used as a sanitizing agent for the egg washing process.