Quality and stability of eggs from laying hens fed with organic minerals and lycopene

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of using lycopene and organic minerals in diets for laying hens on the egg quality and stability of eggs stored for 30 days under different storage environments. An entirely randomized design was adopted in 2x3x3 factorial scheme (mineral sources x lycopene levels x storage periods) with six replicates of eight hens per experimental unit. The experimental diets were: feed containing inorganic minerals (IM) without added lycopene; IM with added lycopene (400mg kg(-1)); IM with added lycopene (800mg kg(-1)); organic minerals (OM) without added lycopene; OM with added lycopene (400mg kg(-1)); OM with added lycopene (800mg kg(-1)). After 112 days of feeding experimental diets, it was selected 60 eggs treatment(-1), which were later labeled, stored in room and refrigerated temperature, and subjected to different storage periods (0, 15 and 30 days). Variables analyzed were: Haugh unit, yolk index, yolk color, albumen and yolk pH, and lipid oxidation (TBARS). Stability of eggs is not altered as a function of mineral sources and levels of lycopene studied. However, increasing storage time affects the quality of the eggs of laying hens at both storage conditions.