About This Project

Eggs are an extremely common source of protein in human diets. In order to preserve eggs for later use, the Chinese started to coat various eggs with an alkaline paste to cure them. There are now growing concerns that to in order to speed up the curing process, some eggs are now preserved on an industrial scale using chemical additives instead. This study aims to identify if heavy metals are present in preserved eggs purchased in North American supermarkets.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

In 2013, thirty companies in Jiangxi province were closed down after it was found that they were utilizing toxic chemicals to speed up the curing process (http://www.scmp.com/news/china...) of preserved eggs.

A survey study performed in China in 2013 (https://www.researchgate.net/p...) also found that preserved egg products bought domestically in China were still coming up contaminated with heavy metals (Pb, Zn and Cu).

This project aims to conduct a survey study and see if the common Chinese preserved eggs, easily obtainable in North American Asian supermarkets, are contaminated with heavy metals, potentially causing a risk for unsuspecting North American consumers.

What is the significance of this project?

Consumers in Canada and the U.S.A. are likely to think that because they purchase a product in North America, it won't contain hazardous chemicals or substances such as heavy metals. However, recent studies in China could lead to believe the contrary. If lead, copper or other heavy metals are found in the preserved eggs purchased in North America, this could be of great concern to unsuspecting consumers who regularly consume preserved eggs.

What are the goals of the project?

This project will identify if Chinese preserved eggs purchased in North America are contaminated with heavy metals and if so, if the concentration of heavy metals are within acceptable limits. This project will also attempt to evaluate if consumers are safe when eating preserved eggs, or if they are exposing themselves to high concentrations of heavy metals.

To do this, we will purchase 24 preserved eggs to analyze, and we will analyze the shell and the soft egg within separately, to identify if heavy metal contamination is present, and if it is localized to a specific portion of the egg.