Synergy of Biodegradable Polymer Coatings with Quaternary Ammonium Salts Mediating Barrier Function Against Bacterial Contamination and Dehydration of Eggs

Eggs are an important, low-cost, high-protein food with a balanced nutritional composition. The sanitary quality of commercial eggs is a bottleneck that needs to be overcome through the use of technologies that guarantee the safety of the product. This work aimed to prepare, characterize, and evaluate the coating of commercial eggs by chitosan filmogenic solutions and 1st- and 5th-generation quaternary ammonium salt components (QACs). Egg shell properties such as thickness, morphology, and wettability were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM),TG/DSC, pH(PZC), contact angle, color, and weight loss. Determinations of the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) with Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus were performed, as well as proliferation tests on eggshell surfaces. The results show a synergistic effect of the biopolymer in terms of antibacterial activity against all microorganisms tested. The composite of chitosan and ammonium quaternary ammonium films offers physical and biological safety to guarantee the integrity and microbiological quality of commercial eggs. Egg coating using bioactive chitosan films was shown to be a suitable method of preservation and a physical and microbiological barrier to minimize egg quality loss during storage, as well as to increase shelf life. (AU)