Chicken egg as a functional food

U ovom radu opisana je kvaliteta kokošjeg jajeta i njegovo korištenje kao funkcionalne hrane. Jaja su visokovrijedne namirnice koje sadrže dovoljne količine svih potrebnih hranjivih tvari i zato su pogodne za prehranu ljudi svih dobnih skupina. Jaje se sastoji od ljuske, bjelanjka i žumanjka. Zbog sve većih zahtjeva na tržištu potrebno je kontrolirati kvalitetu jaja. Glavni pokazatelji kvalitete jaja su čvrstoća i debljina ljuske, boja i pH žumanjka i pH bjelanjka, indeks oblika, Haugh jedinice, visina bjelanjka itd. U intenzivnoj proizvodnji konzumnih jaja koriste se četverolinijski hibridi kao što su: Tetra SL, Lohmann Brown Classic ili White, Hisex Brown ili White, čija je proizvodnja oko 350 do 363 jaja po nesilici u 80 tjednu starosti nesilice. Od pasmina za proizvodnju konzumnih jaja koristi se Leghorn bijele boje perja, čija je prosječna nesivost 220 – 260 jaja godišnje. Ukoliko se tijekom proizvodnog ciklusa nesilice hrane s smjesama ps dodatkom biljnih ili ribljeg ulja modificira se profil masnih kiselina u jajetu. Nadalje ako se u hrani poveća razina nekog mikroelementa ili vitamina također se u jajetu povećava njegov sadržaj, te se dobiju obogaćena jaja, koja se mogu smatrati funkcionalnom hranom.This paper describes the quality of chicken egg and its use as a functional food. Eggs are high-value foods that contain sufficient amounts of all the necessary nutrients and are therefore suitable for the diet of people of all ages. An egg consists of shell, albumen, and egg. Because of the growing market demand it is necessary to control the quality of the eggs. The main indicators of egg quality are shell strength and thickness, yolk color, pH of yolk and albumen, shape index, Haugh units, albumen height, etc. In the intensive production of table eggs four-line hybrids like Tetra SL, Lohmann Brown Classic or White, Hisex Brown or White are used, producing about 350 to 363 eggs per laying hen in 80th week of hens' age. For the production of table eggs, a Leghorn breed with white feathers is used, whose average prooduction is 220 to 260 eggs per year. If hens are fed mixtures with the addition of vegetable or fish oils during the production cycle, the fatty acid profile in eggs is modified. Further, if the level of a microelement or vitamin in the feed is increased, its content is also increased in the egg, thereby obtaining enriched eggs, which can be considered functional foods