Citric Pectin–Cordia verbenacea Bioactive Coatings to Preserve Egg Quality Under Non-Refrigerated Conditions Using Machine Learning Approaches

In many developing regions, the lack of a continuous cold chain poses a significant challenge for the preservation of table eggs. This study developed bioactive coatings based on citric pectin enriched with <i>Cordia verbenacea</i> DC aqueous extract to maintain egg quality under non-refrigerated conditions (25 days). A total of 144 fresh eggs were divided into a Control group and five treatment groups with increasing extract concentrations (0% to 100%). Quality was assessed through physical, chemical, and microbiological parameters, supported by principal component analysis (PCA) and random forest (RF) modeling. The results showed that all coated eggs maintained significantly higher Haugh units (classified as Grade B) compared to the control (grade C) (<i>p</i> < 0.05). The microbial load on the shell, a fundamental indicator of sanitary-hygienic conditions, was reduced from 70.0 ± 5.8 CFU/egg in the control to zero in the 100% extract treatment. The RF model achieved 97.06% accuracy in classifying the treatments, identifying microbial load and Haugh unit as the primary predictors of quality. This bioactive coating represents a sustainable and low-cost technology to enhance the shelf life and safety of eggs in markets without refrigeration infrastructure.