Comparing effects of α‐ vs. β‐chitosan coating and emulsion coatings on egg quality during room temperature storage

Summary Effects of α- and β-chitosan (CH), soybean oil (SO) and their emulsions (CH:SO = 2:3) as coating materials on selected internal quality and sensory properties of eggs were evaluated during 5 weeks storage at 25 °C. After 3 weeks of storage, α- and β-CH-coated eggs changed to B grade, while SO- and emulsion-coated eggs preserved grade A quality. Weight loss of eggs coated with SO and CH:SO emulsions was <2.0% vs. 5.3–5.8% for noncoated and CH-coated eggs after 5 weeks of storage. β-CH (0.9%) maintained lower weight loss of eggs than α-CH (1.2%) only at 1-week storage. Albumen pH of eggs coated with SO and CH:SO emulsions decreased progressively throughout storage. Eggs coated with β-CH:SO emulsion and SO were significantly glossier than noncoated eggs. Consumers indicated positive purchase intent (69.17–76.67%) for all coated eggs. Overall, α-CH:SO and β-CH:SO emulsions extended egg shelf life by at least 3 weeks during room temperature storage.