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| Photo by annete viqa 123RF |
Researchers from the Graz University of Technology found an alternative to formaldehyde to treat germs in chicken eggs. This alternative is in the form of bacteria with antimicrobial properties that was used before to protect Styrian oil-seed pumpkins from rot in 2009.
In Europe, hatcheries were found treated with an insecticide called fipronil, a chemical harmful to health. Eggs were not exposed directly to the insecticide but the lice-infested hens were treated and the fipronil spread to the eggs when the hens sat on them. Fipronil was later banned in the treatment of animals meant for food consumption and production.
In order to fight bacterial contaminations, formaldehyde has been used in large-scale hatcheries for several years to treat hatching eggs, or eggs not meant for food consumption. But the chemical is carcinogenic and poses a great danger to the environment.
“Formaldehyde evaporates quickly and you can’t control it completely in large-scale hatcheries – some gas always escapes,” said Tomislav Cernava from the Institute for Environmental Biotechnology at the Graz University of Technology.
The European Union has been searching for an alternative treatment to hatching eggs so that the use of formaldehyde in hatcheries can be permanently halted. Researchers at TU Graz found an eco-friendly option for formaldehyde based on useful microorganisms, specifically bacteria with antimicrobial effects. It was included in a precursor project in 2009 where researchers discovered its capability to protect oil-seed pumpkins from rotting. The bacteria produced pyrazines and when applied in its pure form to eggshells, the compound eliminated up to 99.6 percent of germs comparable to the decontamination rate of formaldehyde fumigation.
“We continued to conduct research on the volatile substances of these bacteria to find out how they combat pathogens so effectively. We’ve now assessed the efficiency a few of them conducting microbiome analyses of the eggshells,” said Gabriele Berg, head of the Institute for Environmental Biotechnology at TU Graz.
