Four experiments were conducted to determine 1) the effect of egg temperature (12, 22, and 32 C), oil temperature (12, 22 and 32 C), and storage temperature (12, 22 and 32 C) at time of oiling on egg quality; 2) effect of egg shell temperature (32, 52, and 72 C for 5 min) resulting from washing prior to oiling on egg quality-, 3) length of time oiling can be delayed (3, 9, 27, or 81 hours) with eggs held at 32 C prior to oiling and still maintain grade A eggs at 12, 22, and 32 C storage; 4) effect of exposure of eggs to a CO a atmosphere under pressure prior to oiling on egg quality. The last experiment used C0 2 pressures of .7, 1.1, 1.4, and 1.8 kg/cm 2 for 5, 15, 30, and 60 sec in study 1 and for .5, 1, 2, 4, and 8 min in study 2.The first experiment indicated that the temperature at which eggs were held prior to oiling was the main factor in determining the length of time eggs could be stored and remain grade A. Oil temperature and egg temperature at the time of oiling, had little effect on interior quality after 4 weeks. As expected, storage temperature was the major factor affecting grade.Preheating eggs to simulate washing prior to oiling had no effect on interior quality. The eggs remained grade A during the 4-week storage period at all storage temperatures.The length of time eggs were held at 32 C prior to oiling and subsequent storage temperature were both found to affect interior quality. Immediate oiling after lay maintains the best interior quality but is not necessary to maintain grade A eggs for 4 weeks even under extremes of holding and storage temperatures. Eggs stored at 12 C did not drop below grade A even when eggs were held 81 hr at 32 C prior to oiling. Eggs stored at 22 C declined to grade B when held 27 hr at 32 C, and those held at 32 C dropped to grade B after holding for 9 hr at 32 C prior to oiling.Exposure of eggs to a pressurized C0 2 atmosphere for varying lengths of time at several pressures and oiling under these conditions had little effect on interior quality of the egg. 1978 Poultry Sci 57:930-936 930 at Oakland University on June 6, 2015 http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ Downloaded from