Liquid egg products have been a staple ingredient since they were first produced in the early 1900s. The country that has exploited their properties the most is the USA because unlike whole eggs, liquid egg can be frozen dried and even freeze dried. Most of these products are used in the baking industry.
Liquid egg products cover egg white, egg yolk, whole egg, extended shelf-life refrigerated liquid eggs foods.
These egg products in particular have a high protein content but are relatively cheap. They are commonly used in the preparation of ready meals where they provide opportunities for the development of food structures and textures not feasible with fresh egg alone.
One of the major issues that afflicted liquid egg was its shelf-life and keeping qualities. Any liquid egg food must have exceptional stability.
The presence of bacteria has often been the main cause of product loss. It was a recognised issue back in 1912 before the First World War because egg was seen as a convenient foodstuff for feeding large populations including armies (Stiles & Bates, 1912).
Bacterial contamination is an issue. Pasteurisation of liquid egg is essential for preserving stability. Liquid egg was a common source of Salmonella enteritidis and Escherichia coli O157:H7 which can both be fatal.
the most common method of treatment is thermal pasteurisation of various forms whereby heat is applied over various defined times to inactivate microorganisms. The minimum temperature and holding time for egg yolk is 60ºC over 6.2 minutes.
References
Stiles, G. W., and Bates, C. A., (1912). A bacteriological study of shell frozen and desiccated eggs. U. S. Dept. Agr., Bur. Chem. Bull. 158
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