Effect of microwave pasteurization on bacterial quality of table eggs during refrigerator storage

Experiments were carried out at the College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Baghdad, during the period from October 26th 2023 to December 20th 2023, to study the effect of pasteurizing treatments of shell table egg using traditional Microwave oven on its quality characteristics during Zero, 1, 2, 4 and 8 weeks of refrigerator storage. A total of 120 fresh table eggs (White shell eggs) were collected from 20000 Luhman layer hens flock at Al-Amir project commercial farm, Al-Musaib city. These eggs were divided into 4 treatment of microwave pasteurization treatments which were Zero, 10, 20, and 30 sec. Results revealed that the numbers of total bacteria and total coliform on the surface of table egg shells is affected by pasteurization with a microwave immediately after treatment (Zero time), the lowest number was for treatment with pasteurization for 30 seconds, and the number of bacteria was in pasteurization treatments were significantly lower compared to the control treatment. As the storage period progressed, the number of total bacteria on the surface of the shell continued to decrease significantly from the control treatment. This was also the case after storage for 2, 4, and 8 weeks, the two pasteurization treatments for 20 seconds and 30 seconds recorded the lowest values. In conclusion, microwave pasteurization of table egg is very imported to extending shelf life of table eggs during refrigerator storage.