8 A BACTERIOLOGICAL STUDY OF EGOS. 



strict supervision over the quality of eggs entering into such com- 

 binations. Eggs and other albuminous food 'substances in which 

 decomposition has begun do not necessarily have a fetid odor or a 

 changed appearance, taste, or consistency, but may be dangerous 

 because of the toxins formed from bacterial activity. 1 The odor 

 particularly is masked in a dried or frozen product. Again, the 

 process of baking dissipates the odor of stale eggs in such a manner 

 that the finished cake or custard when cold is free from the objection- 

 able odor, which may have been present when it was removed hot 

 from the oven. 



The traffic in eggs sold for drying and freezing has greatly increased 

 during the past few years. Strictly fresh marketable eggs in the shell 

 command a high price and there is difficulty in meeting the demand 

 for such products, but large quantities of questionable eggs, often 

 bought at very low prices, have been broken out for cooking purposes 

 by disreputable firms, being preserved by freezing or drying until 

 ready for use. Some dealers, however, manufacture a satisfactory 

 product by the use of good eggs handled under proper conditions. 

 Strictly fresh eggs with sound, clean shells, always bring the highest 

 price in the shell, and no subsequent treatment by freezing or drying 

 will increase their market value or enhance their desirability as a food. 

 j There are two general methods employed for preserving eggs when 

 removed from their shells. One depends on the application of low 

 temperature (0 F. to 10 F.) furnishing the frozen article; while in the 

 dried or desiccated product preservation is largely accomplished by 

 abstracting water from the broken eggs, the finished goods containing 

 from 3 to 8 per cent of moisture. The application of these methods 

 of preserving various food products is recognized as a perfectly legiti- 

 mate business, but no amount of freezing or drying will rejuvenate 

 partly decomposed foods or restore them to their former condition. 

 The low quality of food products is too frequently attributed to cold 

 storage, whereas, in reality, such materials were either in bad con- 

 dition before being placed in storage or became so from delayed or 

 insanitary handling subsequent to removal from storage. The use 

 of low temperatures and the abstraction of moisture from organic 

 material simply retard further decomposition and decay for a rea- 

 sonable length of time, the period varying according to the character 

 of the product and the manner of handling. 



1 There is no objection to drying or freezing good eggs under proper 

 sanitary conditions; in fact, there are some advantages to be gained 

 by preserving eggs in this manner, although the manufacturing proc- 

 esses devised by man, as a rule, do not improve the quality of 

 nature's work. Conditions of modern life and commerce must, how- 



i Dieudonnfi. Bacterial Food Poisoning, translated by Dr. C." F. Bolduan. New York, N. Y. f 1909. 



