Egg technology detects stress in eggs, raises productivity

This product is designed to help decrease the percentage of rejected eggshells from the point of lay to packaging/hatching.

The CracklessEgg has been used by egg producers and equipment companies all over the world, including Big Dutchman and Egga Foods, to reduce damage from collection and measures all the way to the retail shelf. (Courtesy Masitek Instruments Inc.)
The CracklessEgg has been used by egg producers and equipment companies all over the world, including Big Dutchman and Egga Foods, to reduce damage from collection and measures all the way to the retail shelf. (Courtesy Masitek Instruments Inc.)

The CracklessEgg has been used by egg producers and equipment companies all over the world, including Big Dutchman and Egga Foods, to reduce damage from collection and measures all the way to the retail shelf. The company responsible for developing the technology, Masitek Instruments Inc. in Moncton, NB Canada, explains that the product helps increase productivity gains in sellable products.

"Our solution specializes in detecting stress in all its forms (especially Biological and Mechanical) in the egg production chain. Our aim is to resolve or reduce these stress points so that the laying/breeding operation can produce at an optimum level," said Larry Doherty, chief operating officer with the company.

This product is designed to help decrease the percentage of rejected eggshells from the point of lay to packaging/hatching. Also, the transportation mode allows the monitoring of vibration and impacts in transit, which causes changes in the albumen density and shelf life.  The totality of the measurements through the entire supply chain enables the producers to increase shelf life and improve profitability.

"There are micro cracks, not just the obvious breaks.  The producers are able to measure the vibrations to increase hatchability levels, reduce contamination both inside and outside of the shell and reduce the need for antibiotics," said Doherty.

System format

The system comes with multiple components including a mobile tablet application, the egg itself that was developed by the Canadian-based company, and a web portal application. The custom designed software is programmed to provide real-time data immediately visible on the tablet to identify in minutes the location of damage points in production based on industry standards.

The egg technology is engineered to weigh and roll as a normal egg would. The sensor goes through the entire production process and records data at every step on the included tablet. With this sampling rate, producers immediately identify areas of issue anywhere in the production line. The data generated on the line is then transmitted wirelessly to the client portal application for further analysis by the users. 

"The portal segments the data so that you can quickly identify areas that require corrective action, impacts increasing in velocity, or compare multiple lines and facilities. It could be as simple as “I've got a problem here from labeling to finish, and based on industry thresholds I can see the impact and force creating issues to the shell," Doherty explained.

Knowing exactly where issues occur can also reduce downtime related to the maintenance of machines. Some producers have even used the technology to evaluate and test new equipment before purchasing.

The technology was created to provide real time data to make decisions and improve producers supply chain, Doherty concluded.

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