Hot air treatment for surface decontamination of table eggs

A hot air assay was set up for the surface decontamination of table eggs experimentally contaminated by Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis. A hot air apparatus was built and a treatment of two shots of 8 s at 600 °C with an interval of 30 s of cold air was chosen and applied on contaminated eggs. The S. Enteritidis load on eggshells as well as the quality traits of the egg components of 190 treated and 190 not treated eggs was investigated during 24 days of storage at 20 °C. Hot air treatment reduced the S. Enteritidis load on eggshells of up to 1.9 log. No significant changes to any of the quality traits tested were recorded. These results suggest the usefulness of hot air pasteurisation for the surface decontamination of table eggs.