WINTER BONUS MAGAZINE 2025

The De Heus technical team carried out a series of tests on egg grading systems across South Africa to assist in monitoring the impact force on eggs. The tests were done as follows: Ten electronic eggs were used to measure every single transition in the egg transportation system. All transition points were measured individually so that the force at every transition could be determined. Where necessary, the transfer points were adjusted (fine-tuned) with the help of a grading system specialist. The impact experienced by each egg was determined in Newtons, and the average result of all ten eggs was converted into a grade from 0 to 10. Ten means that the impact was very low, and one means that the impact was very high. See Table 1 for a summarised explanation of the grade scoring system. The higher the impact on the eggs, the lower the score. G-force Score Colour >40 1–3 Red 30–40 4–5 Orange 20–30 5–6 Yellow <20 >7 Green To pinpoint the area of concern shown in Figure 3, each five-egg row in the cup- conveyor system of transfer point A was tested individually. Figure 5 shows the row that was found to have high impacts on the eggs, some of which were recorded to be >80 N. Considering that most eggs have a breaking strength of >40 N, an impact force of 80 N is very likely to cause at least a hairline crack, if not a complete breakage of the impacted egg. 3. Consequence and prevention Transfer points in grading systems with high impacts may increase the percentage of eggs with hairline cracks, thus reducing the quality and grade of the affected eggs. This will ultimately affect the profitability of the business if not corrected, as damaged eggs fetch a much lower price. If the impact point is before the crack detection system of the grading system, these eggs will be separated and may have to be sold as liquid eggs. However, if a transfer point causes high impacts on eggs after they have already passed through the crack detection point, the affected eggs may be packaged and sold to the consumer. Should this happen, egg returns and financial losses will increase, and the business may suffer reputational damage if the numbers are high. To prevent negative effects on egg quality, consistent monitoring of impact points in grading systems can serve as an early warning should any given transfer point begin to cause higher than acceptable impacts when The measured impact on the electronic eggs is illustrated in the figures below. Figure 3 below shows the impact of a cup-conveyor system (transfer point A) on nine individual electronic eggs placed randomly in a tray of 30 eggs. The results showed that the impact ranged from a score of 1 (very high impact) to a score of 8 (low impact), indicating that some of the suction cups at this transfer point were possibly causing hairline cracks. In comparison, Figure 4 shows a separate cup- conveyor system later in the grading system (transfer point B) with a near-perfect average score of 9,6 achieved, indicating no impact on the eggs. Table 1: Grade of the measurement Table 1: Grade of the measurement Figures 3, 4, and 5: Impact testing results on transfer point A (Fig. 3), transfer point B (Fig. 4), and a suction cup row with high impacts in transfer point A (Fig. 5). Winter 2025 BONUS www.agribonus.co.za 54