Cereal Chem. 87(5):434-438Degradation of added folic acid and native folates in micronutrientfortified corn masa and tortillas was evaluated using masa prepared from either nixtamalized corn flour or fresh nixtamal. Variations in masa pH, masa holding time at an elevated temperature, and iron source failed to show significant differences in folate loss in corn flour masa prepared in the laboratory. Masa was subsequently prepared from fresh nixtamal in a commercial mill in Mexico, and fortified with one of two different micronutrient premixes containing iron, zinc, B-vitamins, and either unencapsulated or lipid-encapsulated folic acid. Folate loss in commercial masa increased significantly with prebake masa holding time for both premixes. Unencapsulated folic acid showed a 73% loss after 4 hr of holding, compared to 60% loss for encapsulated. The difference was statistically significant, indicating a protective effect from the lipid coating. No significant differences in folate levels were found between prebake masa and baked tortillas. Holding baked tortillas for up to 12 hr also had no effect on folate levels. Native folate showed no significant losses throughout the process. Results from the commercial tortilla mill indicate that most of the loss in added folic acid occurs during prebake holding of masa, possibly from microbial degradation.

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Brown eggs have gradually entered the traditional white-egg markets as a distinctive mode for packaging specialty eggs. A test was conducted at the Brigham Young University Sensory Laboratory (Provo, UT) to understand how consumers view attributes of the brown egg relative to the white egg. The objectives were to see how the consumer viewed properties of eggs by color and to examine the preference for brown color intensity. The 52 panelists were all women who routinely purchased and consumed eggs. Some women (53.8%) consumed eggs twice weekly, and 40.4% purchased them at least every 2 wk. Purchases included specialty eggs (14.6%) consisting of cage-free (50.0%), organic (28.6%), and n-3 enhanced (21.4%) eggs. The panelists preferred white eggs (90.4%). Though brown-shelled eggs did not exceed white eggs in preference, they were perceived positively (white-shelled %:brown-shelled %) as being more nutritious (65:29), having more flavor (27:14) and n-3 content (62:39), having a farm-flock origin (46:44), and being from organically fed hens (56:31) To test the preference for shade of brown eggs, a set of 6 eggs with varying intensities of brown color was evaluated for accepted appearance using a 9-point hedonic scale. The egg color intensities were measured using a Hunter Colorflex spectrophotometer (Hunter Associates Laboratory, Reston, VA) and the CIE system. The lightness (L*) values ranged from 83.2 for the white egg to 63.6 to 46.5 for the brown eggs. A significant (P < 0.05) preference was found for the 2 lighter shades of brown-shelled eggs (L* 63.6 and 57.5). Using the 9-point scale, panelists then compared brown eggs side by side with white eggs. Again, the 2 most light-tinted brown eggs were found most comparable with the white egg in acceptability and better (P < 0.05) than the darker brown eggs. In conclusion, white eggs were preferred over brown eggs; however, brown eggs gained in acceptance but did not exceed white as likely to be more nutritious or flavorful, fresher, organic, and of cage-free origin. Varying color shades in cartoned eggs was equally as acceptable as uniform colored eggs. Panelists preferred the appearance of the light-tinted brown eggs to that of darker brown eggs.