From Quality and Beyond

To ensure the best quality of eggs is passed on to our customers we have invested in a QCD system which measures the quality of the egg.

QCD SYSTEM

In the 1930's, an American researcher, Dr R R Haugh, introduced a formula that is still used internationally as the definitive method of defining true egg quality and freshness. This formula takes into account egg weight in grams and albumen height in millimetres and provides - rounded up to whole numbers - a range of HU values from single figures in extremely poor quality eggs to over 100 plus in very good quality fresh eggs.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE QCD SYSTEM

The QCD system was manufactured by TSS, the equipment is used to assess the quality of an egg to ensure the egg reaches the customer in the best possible condition.  As a natural product, all eggs are not equal and need to be routinely checked for quality to meet the specifications being increasingly demanded by today's quality conscious retailers.

Most retailers impose on their suppliers a specification that all eggs should meet levels usually in excess of 70.  This usually embraces a range of quality characteristics, such as Haugh Unit (HU - pronounced: "how") which is a measure of the internal quality of an egg (albumen quality), the shell colour,
yolk colour, shell quality, shell cleanliness, freedom of meat and blood spots as well as checks on packaging, barcodes, print colours and eggs being packed correctly, with the labels placed in the correct position.   

One of the primary egg quality traits most frequently measured is albumen quality. Measured in millimetres (the higher the reading the better the quality). This measurement is a very efficient method of determining the quality and freshness of eggs.  Albumen height can vary from as low as 1½mm in stale eggs of low quality, to extremely good and fresh eggs with 11½mm plus, albumen height.  The younger the bird the higher the albumen will be (providing egg is newly laid and not held at too high a temperature).

The albumen thins as an egg ages because the protein in the eggs changes in character over time - that's why fresh eggs sit up tall and firm and why stale or older eggs spread out and run all over a flat surface when they are broken out.

A GUIDE TO THE HAUGH UNIT

Haugh Unit rating	Quality of eggs
90 and above	Excellent
80 - 89	Very good
70 - 79	Acceptable
65 - 69	Fair
60 - 64	Consumer resistance point*
55 - 59	Poor
50 and below	Unacceptable

 

 

 

 

The DSM (Roche) Egg Yolk Colour Fan offers a simple, accurate and consistent means of measuring egg yolk colour. To ensure optimal accuracy during measurement, the following factors should be taken into consideration.