22 BULLETIISr 391^ V. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTURE. 



tions showed that 11 contained bacteria, and 7 of these eggs were 

 heavily contaminated. It is probable that absorption from sur- 

 romiding materials accounts for the abnormal odor in the other 4 

 eggs. Operators of cold-storage warehouses have found that eggs 

 stored in the same room with fruits, such as oranges or lemons, absorb 

 the odors of such fruits. When eggs are opened in the break- 

 ing plants many varieties of absorbed odors are encountered. 

 Eggs with the odor of kerosene or moth balls are not uncommon. 

 Both materials are used in hen houses to inhibit the development of 

 vermin; one as a spray and the other as a nest egg. 



Mold infection very frequently is associated with the presence of 

 both bacteria and molds.^ It is not unexpected, therefore, to find that 

 fully two-thirds of the eggs with a moldy odor contained bacteria. 



It has been found that sour eggs are very heavily contaminated 

 with organisms of the B. coli group and that they often contain 

 bacteria in numbers equal to those found in black rots,^ Only 5 sour 

 eggs were present in the 29 samples. In two instances the egg was 

 graded as a "doubtful sour/' as it was not always possible to deter- 

 mine conclusively the dividing line between a sour egg and one that 

 was not sour. This accounts for the sterility of two of the eggs in 

 which it was not certain that the odor was sour. 



Considerable care is exercised in the cooperating plants in the 

 grading of eggs with abnormal odors. All eggs, even if they ap- 

 pear sound, are smelled carefuUy, and if there is any doubt as to 

 whether the odor is due to absorption or spoilage, the questionable 

 egg is discarded. 



The musty egg has a peculiarly characteristic odor and taste. In 

 some cases its odor resembles that of old fillers and fiats, in others 

 that of certain kinds of weeds or of spoiling hay or chaff, and in 

 stiU others the odor of sprouting potatoes. As its condition can not 

 be seen by the candle, a musty egg must be detected by its odor 

 out of the shell. Its odor can not always be expelled by cooking. 

 The possible presence of such an egg in breaking stock and the un- 

 fortunate results which are likely to occur if it is present in cake or 

 cookie dough made egg breakers realize that eggs must be graded 

 out of the shell as well as by the candle. 



Egg handlers frequently do not distinguish between moldy and 

 musty eggs, although the two are distinctly different. The moldy 

 egg is caused by the growth of molds in the egg substance and has 

 an odor characteristic of damp cellars. The musty egg usually is 

 normal in appearance, in fact it frequently resembles a perfectly fresh 

 egg. Occasionally, however, a musty egg with a green white is 

 encountered. 



I U. S. Dept. Agr. Bui. 51, pp. 33-38, 46. 2 U. S. Dept. Agr. Bui. 51, pp. 61-64. 



