Development of Chemical-free Egg Shell Surface Decontamination Methods Through Electro Nano-spray

鸡蛋和蛋制品被广泛消费。虽然鸡蛋是许多营养素的极好来源，但它们也可能是食源性病原体的携带者，如沙门氏菌和大肠杆菌。杆菌2003年至2009年，加拿大报告的沙门氏菌人间病例年发病率增加了63%，其中确定食用家禽产品（鸡蛋和鸡肉）是原因之一。因此，控制鸡蛋和鸡肉行业的微生物污染将有助于解决安全问题。目前，洗蛋是去除蛋壳表面污垢和微生物的标准程序，通常使用热水和化学品来有效地破坏广泛的致病生物。然而，大量的水用于清洗和化学品的潜在沉积到壳表面上表明需要开发环境友好的，无化学品的，和低成本的表面去污工艺。在这个项目中，一个新的去污染过程中的壳鸡蛋将开发基于电纳米喷雾技术，从纳米尺寸的水滴产生。将评估纳米尺寸液滴的微生物灭活效率和对鸡蛋品质的影响。本项目的初步研究结果将为蛋品行业在更大规模的生产中采用这种新的净化工艺提供技术指导。

Eggs and egg products are widely consumed. Although eggs are an excellent source of many nutrients, they could also be carriers of foodborne pathogens such as Salmonella and E. coli. A 63% increase in annual incidence of Salmonella enteritidis human cases was reported in Canada from 2003 to 2009, which identified the consumption of poultry products (eggs and chickens) as one of the causes. Hence, control of microbial contamination in the egg and chicken industry will assist in addressing safety concerns. At present, egg washing is the standard procedure to remove dirt and microbes from the shell surface, which generally uses hot water and chemicals to effectively destroy a wide spectrum of pathogenic organisms. However, the large amount of water used for washing and the potential deposition of chemicals onto the shell surface indicate a need to develop environmentally friendly, chemical free, and low-cost surface decontamination processes. In this project, a novel decontamination process for shell eggs will be developed based on electro nano-spray techniques, from which nano-sized water droplets are generated. Microbial deactivation efficiency and impacts on egg quality of nano-sized droplets will be evaluated. The primary results obtained from this project will provide technical guidance for the egg industry to adopt this new decontamination process in larger scale operations.