Eggs are a rich source of protein, minerals, lipids, and vitamins. Eggs are an essential source of bacterial microflora. Controlling antimicrobial resistance and reducing food loss and waste are essential for a sustainable future. To prevent spoilage and to preserve eggs, a variety of techniques, including thermal and non-thermal, are often used. This paper explores the decontamination methods for egg preservation that have been applied. In previous studies, the initial contamination of the eggs varied from 2 to 9 log CFU per egg. Either thermal or non-thermal techniques resulted in reduced concentrations of Salmonella enteritidis, Salmonella typhimurium, and Escherichia coli, respectively, on the surface of the egg that ranged 0.62–5.9 log, 1.27–4.9 log, and 0.06–6.39 log, respectively, for the former, and being 1.2–7.8 log, 5.0–7.8 log, and 6.5–6.6 log, respectively, for the latter. Thermal approaches were more effective than the non-thermal approaches. Some of these methods had negative consequences on the egg’s functionality, while combination methods, such as thermoultrasonifcation (ozone-UV radiation or heat‐ozone), mitigated these effects. Other decontamination methods require further investigation, particularly the potential for scaling up for commercial usage and the associated costs. In conclusion, decontamination methods are required to extend shelf life of eggs, and to decrease consumer risks associated with foodborne pathogens.

The main objectives of this study were to estimate genetic parameters for the survival, longevity and evaluate risk factors for the occurrence of mortality in a Japanese quail line selected for high growth rate during the period from hatch to 21 days of age (GR_1–21) for eight generations and its control. Total number of 1095, 2289 and 16,506 for sires, dams and progeny, respectively, was used to estimate genetic parameters, a separate hatch of 687 chicks was used to examine the risk factors of quails in the selected (SL, 438) and control (CL, 249) lines. The proportion of censored quails until 42 days of age was 82.20 and 87.14 for SL and CL, respectively. The CL showed higher longevity than SL (38.42 vs. 36.86 days). In the two tested lines, mortality% significantly declined when body weight at death increased, however, the CL had a higher reduction of mortality% than the SL (50 vs. 42%). Survival and longevity had low heritability values, low genetic and phenotypic correlations between survival and longevity with GR_1–21 and ranging from 0.025 to 0.208. The survival tended to be less correlated with GR_1–21 and body weight at marketing age than the longevity.

This study investigated the association of polymorphisms in four genes with growth traits in two Japanese quail lines: a high-growth-rate selected line (HGR) and a control line (CL). It utilized 21 generations of divergent selection to identify potential selection signatures, comparing allele frequency shifts between the high-growth and unselected base populations. Growth Hormone (GH), Prolactin (PRL), Bone Morphogenetic Protein Receptor Type-1B (BMPR-1B), and Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide Receptor 1 (VIPR-1) genes were genotyped using PCR-RFLP. While the PRL gene was monomorphic, the GH, BMPR-1B, and VIPR-1 loci were polymorphic. Association analysis demonstrated that these variants significantly influenced body weight. In the HGR line, the homozygous genotypes (BB) of GH and BMPR-1B were significantly correlated with increased body weight at various ages. The AA genotype of VIPR-1 correlated with growth, while the BB genotype reduced body weight. An in silico analysis suggested that GH and VIPR-1 variants were functionally disadvantageous. The BMPR-1B variant was tolerated, indicating its potential as a genetic marker. Significant additive effects were estimated for the associated SNPs, thereby highlighting their heritable potential. These findings suggest that GH, BMPR-1B, and VIPR-1 polymorphisms are valuable for marker-assisted selection to improve growth performance within Japanese quail breeding programs.