Abstract
To increase the shelf life of quail eggs and maintain their quality, a good preserving medium must be available. Therefore, the objective of this research was to determine the effect of Beta vulgaris "Beterraga" sauce as a preserving liquid on the shelf life, sensory acceptability and quality of quail eggs. A complete randomized design was used, which consisted of 5 treatments which were the formulations where the Beta vulgaris pulp was incorporated in 5 levels (0, 25, 50, 50, 75 and 100%) of a variable matrix which was completed with treated water. Acceptability was evaluated using a consumer panel, and the stability of pH and color of egg white, yolk and whole egg during storage was determined. Accelerated tests were used to determine shelf life and the data were processed through analysis of variance and Duncan's test. The results indicated that T4 (75% Beta vulgaris) presented the highest acceptability compared to the other formulas, its pH stabilized after 11 days, the color also stabilized from cream-gray to red and finally to purple, the shelf life reached with the F4 formulation was 360 days. Therefore, the use of 75% of Beta vulgaris as a preserving liquid allows maintaining the external and internal quality and microbial load of the quail egg for a longer storage period at different temperatures, improving its diffusion and commercialization throughout the nation.
