ISSUE FOCUS FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE October 2023 53 Eggshell quality The eggshell plays a crucial role in protecting the contents of the egg from the microbial and physical environment. It also controls the exchange of water and gases. Eggshell quality is made up of several factors, including soundness of the shell, egg shape and color. Improving eggshell quality means increasing shell thickness and breaking strength to reduce the number of cracked eggs and thus increase the number of saleable eggs. Freshness Freshness is most notably observed in the viscosity of the albumin. The older the egg, the waterier the white becomes, affecting customer perception and its functional properties (i.e., ease of making a poached egg). Haugh units are indicative of the protein content of the egg white and therefore the quality of the egg contents (freshness). Haugh units are also known to decrease with the age of the hen. Increasing antioxidant status has the potential to improve Haugh unit values. Antioxidant status Fat soluble compounds in the yolk are subject to oxidation. Such compounds that are used include carotenoids, which intensify yolk color, and omega 3 fatty acids, which offer increased nutritional value. By improving the antioxidant status of the hen, more of these important compounds are preserved, which improves the visual quality and nutritional value of eggs, and optimizes the use of these expensive ingredients. Functional properties In the food manufacturing industry, eggs are appreciated for their coloring, binding, gelling, foaming, emulsifying and nutritional properties. Optimizing these properties improves the value of eggs used in powder or liquid form. Check out our article on “Improvement of the nutritional properties of eggs”. 2. Sustaining performance and egg quality of aging hens by securing their antioxidant status Oxidative stress increases as animals age, which in turn can decrease laying performance. Aging also leads to variability in shell quality. Therefore, the organs and tissues involved in egg production need nutritional support, in particular protection against oxidative stress. Selenium (Se), defined as the chief executive of the antioxidant system, is involved in several levels of antioxidant defense. Selenium is included in livestock premixes, either in inorganic forms (mainly sodium selenite (SS)), which are known to have a very low bio-efficacy, or in organic forms, such as inactivated seleno-yeasts (SY) or in pure chemically synthetized forms (SeMet, hydroxy-selenomethionine: OH-SeMet), which are known to have a higher bio-efficacy. Selisseo® is the only pure form of organic Se that consivstently provides 100% Se as OH-SeMet
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTUxNjkxNQ==