Improving Egg Production Operations

Food safety inspectors use egg candling systems to check egg quality and grade eggs. Current commercial egg candling grading lights were based on obsolete incandescent bulbs that are no longer manufactured. USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) requested that its grading units be upgraded to new, high-intensity, energy-efficient LED candling lights. To meet this need, ARS scientists designed and developed portable and stationary LED-light grading systems and developed a computerized software system. ARS's new system can monitor, collect, and process egg cracking data without using current paper forms. This allows for real-time statistical and trend analysis of egg production operations. An industry-manufactured LED egg candling system is under development based on this ARS technology.

Related Information

Research Project: Develop Methods to Assess and Improve Poultry and Eggs Quality