PREPARATION OF FEOZEN AND DRIED EGGS, 



37 



Six samples of desiccated egg taken on this visit showed from 65,000 to 13,000,000 

 organisms to the gram, as tabulated in Table E-III and E-V (Appendix, pp. 70 

 and 74), under visit No. 2. 



A study of the dried product of four different runs showed, as expressed in Table 

 E-II (Appendix, p. 68), under visit No. 2, that the wet lumps in every case had a 

 higher bacterial content than the flaky egg. In some samples this difference was 

 negligible; mothers it was marked. The moisture content of the wet lumps varied 

 from 16.46 to 21.68 per cent. 



Table 19. — Commercial samples of liquid 



and dried tanners' 



egg (E house 



1912). 



Sam- 

 ple 



Description of 

 sample. 



Date of 

 sampling. 



Visit. 



Bacteria per gram 

 on plain agar in- 

 cubated at — 



Gas- 

 producing 

 bacteria 

 per gram 

 in lactose 

 bile. 



Lique- 

 fying 

 organ- 



Ammonia- 



cal nitrogen 



(Folin 



method). 



Mois- 

 ture. 



No. 



20° C. 



37° C. 



gram. 



Wet 

 basis. 



Dry 



basis. 







. do 



Apr. 26 

 May 14 

 May 17 



do 



1 



2 

 2 

 2 



100,000,000 

 20,000,000 

 48,000,000 



17,000,000 



1 . 000. 0004- 





P.ct. 



0. 0069 

 .0024 

 .0020 

 .0041 



P.ct. 

 0. 0219 

 .0025 

 .0021 

 .0146 



P.ct. 

 68.53 



4323 

 4347 



4,700,000 100,000+ 

 4.800.000 10.000+ 



1,200,000 

 2,600,000 



5.54 

 6.90 







130, 000, 000 24. 0( 



71.89 

















During this visit two samples of liquid and two of dried tanners' egg were taken. 

 The laboratory results given in Table 19 showed, as would be expected, an excessive 

 number of bacteria and large quantities of ammoniacal nitrogen. 



Visit No. 3 {June 1 to 5). 



The third trip to this house was made when most of the new equipment for the sea- 

 son was in operation. The extra set of supply troughs to the drying belts had been 

 made; two creamery tanks, with a capacity of 800 gallons each, were installed; the 

 new breaking outfits were in use; and, most important of all, there was a plentiful 

 supply of refrigeration, so that the eggs could be kept cold from time of receipt until 

 the liquid was spread on the drying belts. 



Each tank had a continuously revolving brine coil, which served to keep the egg at 

 a temperature just above freezing until it was drawn off to be dried. These creamery 

 tanks were especially constructed in that the lids were perforated to permit of the 

 steam hose being inserted, and the joints were tight enough and strong enough to hold 

 the steam. A temperature of 210° F. was readily maintained for one-half hour. Of 

 course, the cold brine was emptied from the pipes before the steam was admitted. 



With the accession of refrigeration the receipts had been doubled, so that the drying 

 room was in operation day and night. The force had been increased so that all the 

 eggs were candled and broken during the day. The egg supply consisted of ' ' dirties " 

 and "checks," about half and half. 



The work of the candlers was fair; the work in the breaking room, however, was very 

 unsatisfactory because the forewoman was not enforcing the routine decided upon. 

 The girls, for instance, were only occasionally washing hands and changing knives 

 after bad eggs. Their manipulation of the new breaking outfit was an example of how 

 poorly a good piece of apparatus can be used. They gave the eggs too hard a blow on 

 the breaking knife and then did not turn the crack upward, consequently a large 

 amount of white leaked from the egg into the drip tray. 



Because of the large number of eggs with incipient odors and because of the large 

 percentage of bad eggs in the breaking stock, the girls were continuously in need of 

 assistance in deciding on doubtful eggs. On account of the unreliability of the girls 

 and the importance of careful grading, it was absolutely necessary that a well-qualified 

 person should have charge of the breaking room. 



During this period 31 samples of the commercial product were obtained — five from 

 the large storage tanks in the breaking room and the balance in the drying room 

 before and after desiccation. 



The five samples taken from these tanks had about double the number of bacteria 

 found in similar specimens taken on visit No. 2. The number of bacteria in the 

 present samples is shown in Table E-IV (Appendix, p. 72). There was also a slight 

 increase in the amount of ammoniacal nitrogen. 



The laboratory results showed no marked changes in the dried product when com- 

 pared with those obtained during the previous experimental period. 



