Albumen Freshness Assessment by Combining Visible Near-Infrared Transmission and Low-Resolution Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

Recently, some nondestructive methods for the assessment of albumen freshness were developed. Among others, visible near-infrared transmission spectroscopy and low-resolution proton nuclear magnetic resonance (LR 1H NMR) measurements were proposed. This study was performed to evaluate the potential of the combined measurement of visible near-infrared transmission spectroscopy and LR 1H NMR measurements for the assessment of albumen freshness. Our results show that solely based on the transmission measurements, a good estimation of albumen freshness can be achieved. Based on LR 1H NMR measurements, an estimation of albumen freshness can be achieved if larger egg collectives are used. However, when individual eggs are considered, only a moderate estimation is feasible. Finally, it was observed that combining both spectroscopic techniques did not improve the assessment of albumen freshness when compared solely to transmission measurements.