Researchers Develop Egg Sanitizing Machine

Aug 13, 2013

Researchers Develop Egg Sanitizing Machine

By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com

A new egg machine could revolutionize the poultry industry, saving poultry farmers thousands of eggs and dollars each year.

Texas A&M University researcher – Dr. Graig Coufal, created a machine that sanitizes eggs for hatching. Eggs are placed on a conveyor belt and then go through a sanitizing process. The eggs are sanitized by bringing together UV lights and hydrogen peroxide.

Currently, most farmers don’t clean their eggs, which leave them vulnerable to infection, as well as the potential for them to go rotten. While eggs are typically good at warding off bacteria 99% of the time, there are often on average 1% of eggs, which need to be discarded, which can affect a farmer’s bottom line, especially in a large facility.

Adopting an egg sanitizing machine, would address some production losses due to bacteria seeping into egg shells. Eggs that go through the process come out germ-free. The machine is currently being tested on a farm in East Texas. The cost of the machine is unknown.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.