How to handle Burnt Flats?
I work for a company that produces shell eggs. We have been getting burnt flats in from one of our suppliers. OurUSDA grader doesn't like them (I don't either) so at first we wouldn't use them to pack any product in and sent two trucks back to the supplier. Right now it's basically impossible to find another flat supplier that can make enough flats to supply us along with their already existing customers and we've run out of good flats. Let me pause here to explain that the issue the Grader has is that the burnt flats smell burnt and that gets into the egg so he will retain all product of his that's packed in them. We have no choice but to use them now. So the idea is that he will retain them and then we will appeal his decision. If anyone has any advice or knowledge relating to any of this I would very much appreciate any help!
Has your grader and you confirmed the burnt odor actually gets into the eggs?
What has the supplier of the burnt flats said about this? Do they refuse to improve?
Has your grader and you confirmed the burnt odor actually gets into the eggs?
No, we have not. He is basing his thoughts off of the fact that eggshell is porous after being washed. I tried to argue this with him, but I can't find any sort of research or scientific resource saying how much time it takes for an odor to actually permeate the shell to the point that you would smell it while cooking or eating etc...
As for myself, I don't like the flats just based on quality and aesthetics.
What has the supplier of the burnt flats said about this? Do they refuse to improve?
The first time I sent a truck back they said they would send back replacements and that their VP would personally observe these getting put on the truck, and that's the second load that I sent back to them. So, they wondered why and when we told them the reason, they spoke to a USDA representative that apparently said they were okay to pack on, but our USDA representative is still saying "no". I've even gone to his supervisor and had discussions with him about it and he stands behind his grader.... no surprise there. So basically the supplier is saying they're good and there's no reason we can't use them.
...our USDA representative is still saying "no". I've even gone to his supervisor and had discussions with him about it and he stands behind his grader.... no surprise there. ...
Have your inspector (or preferably their vet supervisor) send you this decision in writing, and send that to the supplier. The supplier isn't disagreeing with you, they're disagreeing with the USDA.
That won't necessarily get you more material though.
If you really want to push back against the USDA, then collect aggregate samples that are stored in "good" flats, and samples stored in "burnt" ones, both out to the shelf life of the product, and send them off for some mass spectrographic analysis to see if there is any difference in the content. That's likely to be an expensive validation, but it might be what it takes.
In shell egg here-----------they take surprisingly very little to pick up and retain the scent of other things
I know that the supply chain for egg packaging is struggling, but that doesn't mean those should be used (where is their QA team???)
Do you have a spec from them on file? If your packaging is not within the agreed upon spec, you have every right to refuse it (but I know you maybe can't............we're having to use 3 different vendors all at once right now to have enough)
The Egg’s Shell
It makes sense to start from the outside of the egg and work our way in, so let’s begin with the egg’s shell. It’s made primarily from calcium carbonate, the chemical compound which also makes up the majority of sea shells, as well as chalk and limestone. Nanoparticles of calcium carbonate are arranged into ordered crystals by proteins, eventually forming the calcite mineral that makes up the shell. The shell isn’t actually completely solid – it has thousands of tiny pores, around 9,000 on average, which allow gases to pass in and out. As we’ll see later, this can have implications for cooking.
https://www.compound...016/03/26/eggs/