Hygienic quality evaluation of the egg product used as ingredient in fresh egg pasta

The aim of this study was to verify the applicability of egg product legal chemical indexes (3OH-butyric acid, succinic acid, lactic acid) and of uracil to fresh pasta, in order to evaluate the hygienic-sanitary quality of the egg ingredient. The analytical characterisation of twenty commercial fresh egg pasta samples and of several ingredients demonstrated that 3OH-butyric acid and uracil are able to highlight the use of egg products of poor hygienic-sanitary quality. For instance, the use of incubator reject eggs in the production of fresh egg pasta (at 20% egg) can be detected by a value of 3OH-butyric acid above 2.83 mg/kg d.m., combined with the presence of uracil. Uracil, which is absent in sound eggs and is not detectable in wheat products, represents a more reliable index for the evaluation of the hygienic quality of eggs in pasta, instead of succinic acid already present in the wheat ingredients.