Effect of an organic and conventional rearing system on the mineral content of hen eggs

Dietary intake of polish organic and conventional fruit growers and their life partners - a pilot study

Diet is one of the elements that contribute to health and quality of life. There are significant discrepancies between the diets of people living in different regions, with different beliefs, or with different approaches to sustainability and ecology. There is a lack of research on dietary intake among organic and conventional fruit growers. The aim of our study was to examine the diets of orchardists and their immediate life partners in terms of meeting energy requirements, nutrient intake and fulfillment of dietary recommendations in this group. Fifty-three participants (28 in the organic group and 25 in the conventional group) took part in the study. Dietary data were obtained using the 3-day dietary record. Body mass and height were measured and BMI was calculated. Physical activity was estimated using a questionnaire method. The study group was aged 44 ± 8 years, with a body weight of 84 ± 16 kg and a height of 172 ± 9 cm. The mean BMI was 28 ± 4 kg/m2. Mean energy intake with diet was 2170 ± 606 kcal/day with needs of 3002 (1991-5144) kcal/day. A significant proportion of the study group did not fulfill their calcium and vitamin D requirements. In addition, a significant proportion of the conventional fruit growers did not cover their needs for potassium, magnesium and vitamins: E, C, and folate. Both groups had too high an intake of cholesterol and saturated fatty acids, and too low an intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids. In conclusion, the orchardists' diets mostly provided adequate amounts of nutrients, with inadequate intakes of calcium, vitamin D, cholesterol, and fatty acids. The diets of organic fruit growers were significantly richer in selected nutrients.

Comparative Analysis of LC-ESI-IM-qToF-MS and FT-NIR Spectroscopy Approaches for the Authentication of Organic and Conventional Eggs

The importance of animal welfare and the organic production of chicken eggs has increased in the European Union in recent years. Legal regulation for organic husbandry makes the production of organic chicken eggs more expensive compared to conventional husbandry and thus increases the risk of food fraud. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop a non-targeted lipidomic LC-ESI-IM-qToF-MS method based on 270 egg samples, which achieved a classification accuracy of 96.3%. Subsequently, surrogate minimal depth (SMD) was applied to select important variables identified as carotenoids and lipids based on their MS/MS spectra. The LC-MS results were compared with FT-NIR spectroscopy analysis as a low-resolution screening method and achieved 80.0% accuracy. Here, SMD selected parts of the spectrum which are associated with lipids and proteins. Furthermore, we used SMD for low-level data fusion to analyze relations between the variables of the LC-MS and the FT-NIR spectroscopy datasets. Thereby, lipid-associated bands of the FT-NIR spectrum were related to the identified lipids from the LC-MS analysis, demonstrating that FT-NIR spectroscopy partially provides similar information about the lipidome. In future applications, eggs can therefore be analyzed with FT-NIR spectroscopy to identify conspicuous samples that can subsequently be counter-tested by mass spectrometry.

Targeted lipidomics coupled with machine learning for authenticating the provenance of chicken eggs

Free-range eggs are ethically desirable but as with all high-value commercial products, the establishment of provenance can be problematic. Here, we compared a simple one-step isopropanol method to a two-step methyl-tert-butyl ether method for extracting lipid species in chicken egg yolks before liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis. The isopropanol method extracted 937 lipid species from 20 major lipid subclasses with high reproducibility (CV < 30 %). Machine learning techniques could differentiate conventional cage, barn, and free-range eggs using an external test dataset with an accuracy of 0.94, 0.82, and 0.82, respectively. Lipid species that differentiated cage eggs were predominantly phosphocholines and phosphoethanolamines whilst the free-range egg lipidomes were dominated by acylglycerides with up to three fatty acids. The lipid profiles were found to be characteristic of the cage, barns, and free-range eggs. The lipidomic analysis together with the statistical modeling approach thus provides an efficient tool for verifying the provenance of conventional chicken eggs.

Discrimination of Free-Range and Caged Eggs by Chemometrics Analysis of the Elemental Profiles of Eggshell

As one of the foods commonly eaten all over the world, eggs have attracted more and more attention for their quality and price. A method based on elemental profiles and chemometrics to discriminate between free-range and caged eggs was established. Free-range (n1 = 127) and caged (n2 = 122) eggs were collected from different producing areas in China. The content of 16 elements (Zn, Pb, Cd, Co, Ni, Fe, Mn, Cr, Mg, Cu, Se, Ca, Al, Sr, Na, and K) in the eggshell was determined using a inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometer (ICP-AES). Outlier diagnosis is performed by robust Stahel-Donoho estimation (SDE) and the Kennard and Stone (K-S) algorithm for training and test set partitioning. Partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and least squares support vector machine (LS-SVM) were used for classification of the two types of eggs. As a result, Cd, Mn, Mg, Se, and K make an important contribution to the classification of free-range and caged eggs. By combining column-wise and row-wise rescaling of the elemental data, the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were 91.9%, 91.1%, and 92.7% for PLS-DA, while the results of LS-SVM were 95.3%, 95.6%, and 95.1%, respectively. The result indicates that chemometrics analysis of the elemental profiles of eggshells could provide a useful and effective method to discriminate between free-range and caged eggs.

Discriminant Analysis of the Nutritional Components between Organic Eggs and Conventional Eggs: A 1H NMR-Based Metabolomics Study

The difference of nutrient composition between organic eggs and conventional eggs has always been a concern of people. In this study, ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technique combined with multivariate statistical analyses was conducted to identify the metabolite different in egg yolk and egg white in order to reveal the nutritional components information between organic and conventional eggs. The results showed that the nutrient content and composition characteristics were different between organic and conventional eggs, among which the content of glucose, putrescine, amino acids and their derivatives were found higher in the organic eggs yolk, while phospholipids were demonstrated higher in conventional eggs yolk. Organic acid, alcohol, amine, choline and amino acids were higher in conventional eggs white, but glucose and lactate in organic egg were higher. Our study demonstrated that there are more nutritive components and higher nutritional value in organic eggs than conventional eggs, especially for the growth and development of infants and young children, and conventional eggs have more advantages in promoting lipid metabolism, preventing fatty liver, and reducing serum cholesterol. Eggs have important nutritional value to human body, and these two kinds of eggs can be selected according to the actual nutrient needs.

Effect of laying hens age and housing system on physicochemical characteristics of eggs

In this study, the objective was to evaluate the effect of the age of Hy-line Brown hens – 44 and 60 weeks of age (26 and 42 weeks of laying) and housing system (enriched cages and litter) on the quality of eggs. According to our results, eggs with a better quality of albumen were obtained from younger hens than from older hens. Moreover, older hens produced eggs with inferior quality related to shell parameters, such as greater elastic deformation, poorer breaking strength, and thinner shells. However, hens kept in a litter housing system laid eggs with superior shell quality characteristics of less flexible and greater breaking strength, even though the thickness, weight, and percentage were similar in both housing systems. In addition, a higher amount and activity of lysozyme were obtained from eggs laid by hens kept in the litter housing system than those obtained from hens kept in cages. The maintenance system and age of birds also had a significant (P≤0.05) effect on the basic chemical composition of eggs, as well as on the proportion of individual elements and fatty acid profile. Taking these results into account, we can conclude that the more valuable characteristics from the morphological and nutritional point of view were observed in eggs obtained from younger Hy-line hens kept in the litter housing system.

Sustainability and Quality Aspects of Different Table Egg Production Systems: A Literature Review

Eggs are of considerable importance in feeding the population, as they are a relatively inexpensive and complex food source of very high biological value. The daily animal protein requirement for the human body can be covered with eggs in the cheapest way and with the lowest environmental impact. As animal welfare, as well as environmental and health awareness issues, become increasingly prominent in developed countries, consumer demand for eggs has also changed significantly in recent years, with an increasing number of consumers buying eggs produced in non-cage housing systems. In recent years, cage housing has been more frequently debated in EU member states. An initiative was launched in 2018 to end cage housing technologies and the sale of eggs produced in this way. However, in addition to animal welfare, a number of other factors need to be considered in relation to sustainable production. For this reason, the aim of this research is to provide a comprehensive overview of the sustainability issues of various housing technologies, as well as quality factors affecting consumer health and egg consumption based on the relevant international references and databases. Although there is a growing demand for products produced in non-cage housing systems due to the increasing relevance of environmental protection, health awareness and animal welfare issues in Western societies, research has shown that non-caged production is not the best solution for environmentally, socially and economically sustainable egg production.

The Effect of Dietary Humic Preparations on the Content of Essential and Non-Essential Chemical Elements in Hen Eggs

Simple Summary

In addition to protein, fatty acids and vitamins, hen eggs also contain many minerals, including macroelements, microelements and trace elements. Currently, many different organic mineral supplements are introduced into the diet of laying hens, which can affect the content of chemical elements (essential and non-essential) in the albumen and yolk. These effects are not fully understood. In the present work, the effect of the addition of humic preparations to the standard feed mixture on the content of essential and non-essential chemical elements in albumen and yolk of hen eggs was assessed. The obtained results indicate that only some elements significantly increase in the albumen and yolk when more of them are in a feed mixture enriched with humic preparations.

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine the effect of dietary supplementation with two humic preparations, Humokarbowit (HKW) and Humobentofet (HBF), on the mineral content of the albumen and egg yolk of Lohmann Brown hens. The content of macroelements (Ca, K, Mg, Na, P, S), microelements (Al, Ba, Cu, Fe, I, Mn, Si, Sr, Zn) and trace elements (Ag, As, Be, Bi, Cd, Co, Cr, Ga, Hg, Li, Mo, Ni, Pb, Rb, Sb, Se, Sn, Ti, Tl, V, W, Y and Zr) in the feed mixture (FM), albumen and yolk were presented. The material was collected from laying hens kept in a cage system in two groups, control (C) and enriched (E), with standard feed and feed enriched with humic preparations, respectively. The enriched feed mixture was characterised by a significantly higher Ag, Ba, Be, Bi, Co, Fe, Ga, Hg, K, Mg, Ni, S, Sb, Si, Zn and Zr content compared to the standard, basal mixture. Only some of these elements were found in significantly increased levels in albumen (Bi, Co, Ni, S) and yolk (Bi, Fe, K, Sb). Another noteworthy finding was a significantly lower concentration of Na in the content of eggs from the E-Group, which corresponds to the content of this important macronutrient in the feed. In addition, a significant increase in the concentration of elements such as Al, I, Li, Sr, Ti, Tl, Y, W was noted with a reduction in Cd, Cr, Hg, Mn, Rb, Sn in Group-E, which indicates a complicated egg formation processes, including biotransfer-essential and non-essential chemical elements.

Egg Quality from Siciliana and Livorno Italian Autochthonous Chicken Breeds Reared in Organic System

In poultry production, the intensive use of high-performing hybrid animals led to loss of genetic variability and a consequent lower response to climatic change and disease. Poultry biodiversity is seriously threatened, and its safeguard is a strong objective in developed countries. According to the FAO, which emphasized the importance of native breeds for its country of origin, the aim of this study was to present the first contribution on eggs quality for endangered the Siciliana chicken breed and deepen knowledge on the local Livorno breed. At 20 weeks of age, 108 laying hens (54 Siciliana breed and 54 Livorno breed) were divided into six homogeneous groups of 18 hens each and reared according to requirements imposed by the EC Regulation 889/08 for organic production. The production cycle was controlled over one year, and egg production was recorded daily by group. Eggs were collected, weighted, and measured. Physico-chemical parameter and fatty acids profile were analyzed and nutritional indexes calculated. The statistical model included the effects of breed (Siciliana, Livorno). Egg production was 190 egg/head for Siciliana and 180 for Livorno group. The results showed similar values for Siciliana and Livorno egg quality, highlighting several valuable quality traits from these breeds which might be taken into account for conservation programs.

A comparison between the quality of eggs from indigenous chicken breeds and that from commercial layers

There is an increased interest in animal products from more sustainable farming practices, which may include using local breeds. In addition, maintaining biodiversity is important, and naturally, indigenous breeds of chickens are well adapted to the local environmental conditions. In the current study, 286 eggs from 4 Portuguese breeds of chickens (Branca, Amarela, Pedrês Portuguesa, and Preta Lusitânica) and from a commercial hybrid laying hen were used. Chemical and physical characteristics of the eggs and the egg components such as weights, Haugh units, yolk color, albumen protein content, yolk fatty acid content, and mineral content in the albumen and yolk were analyzed. The Branca breed produced eggs with a lighter brown shell color and lower Haugh unit values than the remaining native breeds (P < 0.05). The commercial hens produced eggs that were found to be more rounded shape than the ideal and with a darker colored shell and yolk than eggs from the 4 local breeds. In addition, the commercial hens also produced heavier eggs but with lower Haugh units than the Amarela, Pedrês Portuguesa, and Preta Lusitânica breeds (P < 0.05). The range of saturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids, and total polyunsaturated fatty acids between eggs from the 4 breeds was small and not significantly different. No differences were found in the percentage of albumen protein between breeds. Albumen and yolk ash content was not different between breeds. The overall analysis indicated that eggs from these native genotypes match the quality of a commercial product in many characteristics. In markets where eggs from local breeds are available, consumers are purchasing a high-quality product while aiding in the expansion of local genetic resources and investing in local farmers.

A comparison of eggshell mineral composition between cage and free-range eggs via inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry

Context In Australia and many other countries, free-range eggs can be sold at significantly higher prices than cage eggs. Mislabelling cage eggs as free-range eggs and vice versa has been documented, and has a significant impact on consumer trust and egg consumption. The development of methods to identify eggs produced from different production systems is necessary to satisfy consumer demand. Aims The objective of this study was to determine whether eggshell mineral composition could be used as a way to differentiate eggs originating from each production system. Our hypothesis was that birds with access to soil would have higher levels of trace minerals in shells. Methods Eggs were randomly collected from six commercial caged and six commercial free-range flocks in Australia. Twelve eggshell samples from each flock were analysed for mineral composition (Ca, P, Mg, Na, Al, B, Cu, Mn, Fe, K, S and Zn) by using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry. Key results The results showed that free-range eggshells contained significantly higher contents of macro-minerals (P, Mg and Na) but lower contents of micro-minerals (Cu, Fe, K, S and Mn) than the cage eggshells (P &lt; 0.05). For all minerals measured, a high variability was noted within and between production systems. Conclusions Analysis of eggshell mineral composition may not be effective for determining the origin of eggs. Implications Systematic studies of the bird’s environment, including analysis of mineral composition in diets, pastures, soil and drinking water are required for comprehensive evaluation of the influences of production systems of laying hens on mineral composition of eggs and eggshells.

Comparison of chemical composition of eggs from laying hens housed in different production facilities: a market study

Eggs as a part of human diet dates to the prehistoric period. After the domestication of Gallus species, Gallus gallus domesticus and their eggs spread across the globe. Eggs proved to be one of the best and affordable sources of nutritionally important components in human diet, such as proteins, vitamins, lipids and some dietary significant elements. Progress in egg production methods, in European union, is recently mostly focused on the improvements in the field of welfare of laying hens, which is part of the plan set by European union council directive 1999/74/EC. Nowadays there are 4 main egg production systems divided by the way of keeping laying hens – Enriched cage, Free range, Barn and Organic. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of different hens housing systems on elemental (Ca, K, Mg, Na, P, Ca, K, Zn), total protein and lipid composition of whole eggs, yolk and albumen. Elemental analysis was performed by ICP-OES, total lipid content by Kjehldahl method and total lipids by Soxhlet extraction. Differences in whole egg were found in 8 from 9 tested parameters – K, Mg, Ba, Fe, P, Zn, total lipids and proteins. Assessment of the differences were done by ANOVA and Tukey`s test. Production systems were also successfully differentiated by principal component analysis. It was found that eggs from alternative production systems did not exhibit higher nutritional value than eggs from conventional cage facilities. In the case of total protein, conventional eggs contained highest average amount. It was also evident, that impact on chemical composition is difficult to assign to production system in general, which was confirmed by alternative studies from this field, which in many cases considerably differs.

Mineral content of eggs differs with hen strain, age, and rearing environment

Egg nutrient quality is strongly influenced by hen diet but is also affected by rearing environment, hen strain, and hen age. The objective of the current study was to determine the effect of: 1) conventional battery cages, 2) enrichable cage systems, 3) enriched colony housing, 4) cage-free, and 5) free-range rearing systems on mineral concentrations of whole, dried egg (yolk and albumen combined) from TA Tetra White (TW) and Hy-Line Brown (HB) hens at 44, 68, and 88 wk of age. We hypothesized that mineral concentration of eggs would differ among rearing systems but not between strains or with hen age. Hens held in enriched colony housing systems produced eggs with 10% lower Mg and 11% lower Mn levels than conventional hens. Concentrations of Ca and Cu were higher (7 and 8%, respectively) in eggs from TW hens than from HB hens. Eggs from HB hens had 8% higher concentrations of Fe, 6% higher Mg and 5% higher Mn than TW hens. Mn was higher in eggs from 44-wk hens than from 68- or 88-wk hens (16 and 11%, respectively). Interaction effects between rearing environment and hen age were observed for K and Mn concentrations. Eggs from 68-wk hens in conventional rearing systems contained 14 to 21% more K than eggs from conventional hens at 44- and 88 wk and 14 to 18% more than eggs from 68-wk hens in other rearing systems. At 88 wk of age, hens in conventional rearing systems produced eggs with higher Mn concentration than hens in enrichable or enriched colony housing systems (22 and 23%, respectively). Interactions between rearing environment, hen strain, and hen age were observed for egg Zn levels among 44- and 68-wk hens but were not detectable among 88-wk hens regardless of rearing system or hen strain. Observed differences in egg mineral content in our study were small and are unlikely to have substantial impact on human nutrition.

The impact of strain and feed intake on egg toxic trace elements deposition in laying hens and its health risk assessment

The impact of strain or feed intake on food trace elements and its health risk assessment is still ambiguous, and therefore, available facts are rare. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the effects of both strains and feed intake on trace elements depositions to egg, toxic heavy metals concentration, and health risk assessment of egg consumption. In the current cross-sectional study, the selected strains, including Shaver White, Hy-Line W36, Bovanse White, Lohman LSL-Lite, and Native laying hens of Khorasan Razavi province, were examined. A total number of 50 samples of eggs and 15 samples of their feed was purchased from poultry farms. Yolk and white were separately analyzed. Sample preparation was performed by wet digestion followed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry. Trace metals Pb, As, Cd, Hg, Cr, and Ni were detected. Statistical analysis was performed in Stata11.2 portable software. Although there was a significant difference in strains and feed, no significant difference was observed in trace elements in egg contents (weight of egg white and egg yolk). Mercury concentration in all the samples was below the instrument detection limit. In this study, the target hazardous quotients were below one for all trace elements. Therefore, Iranian does not experience the adverse health effects due to the consumption of egg.

Effects of dietary Mn-methionine supplementation on the egg quality of laying hens

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary manganese-methionine (Mn-Met) supplementation on the egg quality of laying hens. A total of 480 Jinghong-1 strain layers aged 53 wk were divided into 5 groups with 6 replicates of 16 layers. Birds in the control group were fed a diet supplemented with 60 mg Mn/kg in the form of MnSO4; the birds in other 4 experimental groups were fed a diet supplemented with 20, 40, 60, and 80 mg Mn/kg as Mn-Met, respectively. Dietary Mn-Met treatments significantly affected (P < 0.05) the albumen height, yolk color, and Haugh unit compared to those of the control diet. The Mn contents in the eggshell increased (P < 0.01) significantly by increasing the Mn-Met supplementation, whereas Mn content in eggshell was triple that in the yolk or albumen. Compared with the 60 mg/kg Mn-Met group, the transverse surface in the control group had (P < 0.01) a greater width of mammillary cones, and there were obvious cracks on the outer surface in the control. There was no difference (P > 0.05) in the eggshell gland (ESG) in the expression of calbindin-D28k (CaBP-D28k) mRNA in response to any diet treatment. In conclusion, dietary Mn-Met supplementation increased internal egg quality and the ultrastructure of the eggshell. Compared to the control, 60 mg/kg Mn-Met treatment resulted in improving egg quality, and 20 mg/kg Mn-Met treatment had similar effects the control treatment had on the egg quality. This indicates that the inorganic Mn can be replaced by the lower concentration of Mn-Met.

The quality of eggs (organic and nutraceutical vs. conventional) and their technological properties

The aim of the study was to compare the quality of commercially available eggs: organic (attested organic farm) - OE, nutraceutical (enriched in n-3 fatty acids) - NE, vs. conventional (cage raising system) - CE and their technological (emulsifying) properties. Their basic chemical composition (i.e., moisture, protein, fat, ash) as well as mineral (Na, K, Ca, Mg, Zn, Fe, Mn, Cu) contents were assessed, and fatty acid profiles were determined. Next, the suitability of the eggs for mayonnaise production was assessed.The yolk of organic eggs contained the highest protein (17.7 g/100 g), K (134.7 mg/kg), and Cu (0.15 mg/kg) levels. Meanwhile, the yolk of conventional eggs was the most abundant in Mg (14.6 mg/kg) and Fe (9.05 mg/kg), and the nutraceutical ones - in Ca (109.0 mg/kg) as well as Mn (0.26 mg/kg). Albumen of organic eggs contained the highest level of protein (13.0 g/100 g), whereas the nutraceutical ones contained the highest levels of - ash (1.2 g/100 g), K (150.2 mg/kg), Zn (0.11 mg/kg), and Mn (0.04 mg/kg). Nutraceutical eggs contained a higher amount of n-3 and monounsaturated fatty acids but also smaller saturated fatty acids content. This beneficial fatty acids profile is particularly important from the nutritional point of view. Despite the lack of differences in emulsifying properties among the studied eggs, the mayonnaises prepared on the basis of the nutraceutical eggs showed better stability. This attribute is very important for both the producer (during product transport) and the consumer (during dish preparation).

Research review trends of food analysis in Latvia: major and trace element content

The current paper involves overview of several studies concerning quantitative major and trace element analysis of different food samples, such as products of plant origin, e.g., locally grown vegetables (carrots, onions, potatoes) and products of animal origin derived with or without processing (cottage cheese, eggs, honey). Food samples were collected over the territory of Latvia in the time period 2009-2012. Sample pre-treatment was chosen according to the product specifics but mostly wet mineralization with concentrated nitric acid was applied. Analysis of major elements (e.g., Ca, Fe, K, Mg, Na) and trace elements (e.g., As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Se, Zn) was performed by appropriate quantitative analytical technique: atomic absorption spectrometry, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry or total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. Not only the influence of environmental factors (e.g., geographical or seasonal impact) was detected in element dissemination in food, also botanical origin (if applicable) and applied agricultural praxis, product processing and storage specifics were found to be important. Possible food contamination by potentially toxic elements can be associated mostly with the consequences of anthropogenic activities. The studies revealed the significance of food research in the context of environmental science.