A market study on the quality characteristics of eggs from different housing systems

To study the differences among commercial eggs from four housing systems i.e. cage, barn, free range and organic, 41 physical and chemical parameters were evaluated on 28 fresh egg samples from the Italian market. The univariate statistic analysis evidenced that organic eggs had the highest whipping capacity and foam consistency, but the lowest freshness (the highest air cell height) and albumen quality (the lowest Haugh Unit); cage eggs presented instead the lowest whipping capacity and the highest shell resistance to breaking. The multivariate technique discriminant partial least-squares regression was unable to correctly classify the eggs from the four housing systems, but successfully differentiated cage from alternative (organic + barn + free range) eggs. The variables with the most discriminant power were shell breaking resistance, overrun, protein content, and shell thickness.