Recent Advances in Emerging Sterilization and Quality Control Techniques for Liquid Eggs

While Hen’s egg is nutritious and has versatile functional properties, liquid eggs are gradually becoming an alternative to shelled eggs due to the fragility of shelled eggs, its difficulty of transportation and storage, and safety problems such as foodborne microorganisms vehicled by shelled eggs. Currently, thermal pasteurization is mainly used to enhance the overall safety and extend the shelf life of liquid eggs. However, the thermal susceptibility of egg proteins leads to inadequate sterilization using traditional thermal treatments; for instance, sterilized egg proteins can be stored for only 14–21 days at 4 ℃. Additionally, the functional properties of liquid eggs can be negatively impacted, which is manifested by reduced emulsifying, foaming and gelation properties. This significantly hinders the advancement of the liquid egg industry. In view of the current situation, this article systematically examines recent advances in the effects of emerging thermal processing techniques, physical and biochemical non-thermal processing techniques and storage methods, singly and in combination, on enhancing the sterilization of liquid eggs and on maintaining and enhancing its functional properties, with a focus on the underlying mechanisms. Moreover, the potential of these techniques for industrial application is discussed. It is hoped that this review will provide theoretical guidance for processing technology innovation, product quality improvement and industrial production and application of liquid eggs.