Chicken eggs are certainly a valuable product in many dishes, nutritious and inexpensive. They are also recognized by many doctors as dietary, although recently this statement has been criticized. However, eggs can also be dangerous. Cleanliness in the chicken coop is a relative concept, and there are a great many types of shell infections on themselves. Therefore, in all food establishments, hospitals, child care facilities, etc., processing of an egg prior to its preparation is mandatory. And in a good way, it would be worth it to make it so in home cooking.
Preliminary Actions
Before the actual processing of the eggs, the products must be sorted. All cracked specimens are discarded; at catering enterprises they are subject to immediate disposal. At home, you can put them into the fried eggs - but only immediately, they are not subject to storage.
The second rule: do not keep the eggs in the same packaging in which they arrived. In the catering facilities, they are immediately laid out in containers signed “for the processing of eggs”. At home, it will be wise to follow this rule: in any refrigerator on the door there is a dedicated shelf with cartridges for eggs.
Basic egg handling instructions
Product disinfection occurs in several stages.
- If the shell is heavily contaminated, the eggs are soaked in a container where the permitted solutions are poured. These include a half-percent solution of soda ash and 0.2 percent caustic. It is worth paying attention that there is debate about the admissibility of the latter and it is better to resort to an unconditionally safe tool.
- When the dirt softens, the eggs are not cleaned with stiff brushes (you can use a clean dishwashing sponge at home) and are washed with running tap water.
- Further processing of eggs according to SanPiNu implies their soaking in a disinfectant. Its concentration, exposure time and temperature of the solution depend on the chosen product.
- The last stage is flushing. It is carried out in a separate bath, running warm water and at least a quarter of an hour.
Disinfected eggs are laid out in containers indicating that they already contain processed products and are stored. Employees who took part in the treatment are required to not only wash their hands, but also to treat them with a skin antiseptic and change their clothes.
Two processing methods
In catering, eggs can be washed and disinfected both mechanically and manually. The first is more technological: a conveyor is installed for it, in the cells of which the eggs are placed. In it, they are subjected to automated exposure. First, the products are cleaned with nylon brushes installed in the apparatus, then the eggs are passed through the “shower”, then they are immersed directly in the cassettes in the solution and again passed through rinsing.
Manual egg processing requires the installation of two bathtubs. After brushing, they are used in turn. It is clear that this method is more time-consuming, but does not require investments in equipment. For small cafes and preschool educational institutions, it is more practical and economical.
Permissible disinfectants
Sanitary instructions allow the use of a wide range of compounds. In the list of the most popular are the following disinfectants:
- 4 percent Deson. Disinfection lasts 20 minutes.
- 1% Optimax. The duration of aging is a quarter of an hour.
- 7 percent Polydex. Eggs are immersed for 15-20 minutes.
- 0.1 percent "Ekom-50M", bookmark time - half an hour.
- 2% Nika-2, also half an hour.
In all solutions in which the eggs are processed, the temperature is maintained at 45-50 degrees. The shelf life of the solutions is also different, and the compositions change in accordance with the attached instructions.
Nika-2 and its advantages
All proposed disinfectants have their advantages and disadvantages. In comparison of the one and the other, the Nika-2 preparation has several winning sides.
- The tool can be used not only for disinfection of eggs, but also for processing equipment and surfaces.
- Nika-2 is washed off with special ease.
- The animicidal effect is highest and applies to a wide range of harmful bacteria.
- Antiallergenic, which is especially important in working with children.
- It has an antistatic effect, that is, it prevents the re-settling of dust and fatty particles during egg storage.
- Explosive and fireproof.
- To prepare the solution, ordinary tap water is quite suitable.
An additional bonus is the fact that the product is not aggressive towards the materials that make up kitchen equipment: rubber gaskets, stainless steel, enamels, plastic, etc.
Basic Terms of Use
When processing Nika-2 eggs, a number of points should be taken into account so that its effect is as pronounced as possible and its use is safe for people. Firstly, you need to ensure that the product does not mix with other chemicals, especially with acids. Secondly, solutions are prepared exclusively in a ventilated room (the washing room is necessarily equipped with supply and exhaust ventilation). Thirdly, when working with the drug, it is strictly forbidden to smoke, eat and drink in the same room - the vapor of the product can enter the body, despite the fact that its volatility is not too high.
If Nika-2 gets on the skin (especially in concentrated form), it is urgent to rinse the affected area under running water. The concentrate can be pre-neutralized with food vinegar.