Germ-free hatching eggs: An alternative to formaldehyde application

Hatching eggs in large-scale hatcheries are currently treated with formaldehyde to eliminate germs. Researchers from TU Graz, acib and Roombiotic have now developed a natural alternative. There was a Europe-wide outcry in the summer of 2017 as it emerged that hatching eggs were being treated with the insecticide fipronil, which is harmful to health. The use of fipronil is banned in the treatment of animals meant for food production. The eggs themselves were not treated directly with fipronil, but sitting hens infested with chicken lice were - and they passed on the toxic substance onto their eggs. But hatching eggs come into contact with toxic substances in quite legal, standardised ways. To prevent and fight against bacterial contaminations, the common practice of treating hatching eggs with formaldehyde has been carried out in European large-scale hatcheries for many years.