Today, eggs usually are picked up from the producer 3 or 4 times a week. Often, eggs arrive at the breaking plant on the same day they are laid. Eggs are gathered often on automatic belts and refrigerated on the farm. All eggs are washed at the breaking plant under closely controlled temperature conditions using approved detergent sanitizers. These changes have greatly enhanced the retention of egg quality and reduced the incidence of bacterial
spoilage. The higher quality at the time of breaking has led to some pasteurization concerns, especially for egg white. Eggs reaching the breaking plant often have an egg white with a lower pH. Salmonella is somewhat more heat resistant in egg white at alower pH. Freshly laid eggs have an egg white pH of about 7.6. After laying, the egg white pH will increase from 7.6 to 9.4. Depending on temperature of storage, this increase may take 7 to 10 days.