Smart Egg Processing in the Digital Food Era, Part II: AI-Optimized Non-Thermal Processing, Functional Preservation, and Industrial Implementation

Abstract

Abstract

This is Part II of a two-part critical review of smart egg processing: the integration of sensing, artificial intelligence (AI), and processing technologies into one connected system. Building on Part I (non-destructive sensing and AI-based quality prediction), it reviews non-thermal egg processing technologies (high-pressure processing, pulsed electric fields, ultrasound, cold plasma, and ultraviolet treatments), AI-based parameter optimization, and effects on nutritional and functional quality. It then examines requirements for an integrated architecture: closed-loop control, digital twins and traceability, food safety, sustainability, scale-up, and standardization. Each technology is a mechanistically distinct but individually limited route to microbial inactivation. In the laboratory-scale egg studies reviewed, hurdle combinations at moderate intensity generally outperformed single technologies, although differences in matrices, organisms, and conditions preclude direct comparison. One laboratory study applied AI-driven multi-objective optimization to ultrasound–mild-heat co-sterilization of liquid whole egg, improving microbial safety and foaming retention together. In the literature searched, no study linked real-time sensing to automated non-thermal process control for eggs beyond the conceptual stage, and measured egg-specific energy, life cycle, and economic data were largely absent. A knowledge gap analysis, research agenda, and evidence-tiered conceptual framework (Smart Egg Processing 4.0) are presented.