## 3 Results  
Effect of Egg Component Mixtures and Sucrose Addition on the Flow of Fresh Egg Products and on the Physicochemical Characteristics of the Dried Powders  
Liquid egg flow (mL/min) and total solids (%, \(w\)/\(w\), wet basis) in the liquid egg components were determined and are shown in Table 1. Flow values decreased as the total solids content increased. The WE mixture comprising whole egg components exhibited higher flows, both without and with added sucrose, than the W egg white liquid and M1:3 egg mixture. These results match those reported in Colombian Technical Standard NTC 6116--Food Industries, Egg Products [16], in which the whole fresh egg has a concentration of total solids in the range of 18.7-25%, higher than in egg whites (10-13.5% of total solids). This is due to the higher total solids content in egg yolk. The total solids content in the fresh egg mixtures displayed statistically significant differences. For a constant sucrose content, total solids in the mixtures varied in the following order: W \(<\) M1:3 \(<\) WE. Total solids increased as the proportion of egg yolk was increased in the fresh egg mixtures, since the total solids in egg yolk are from 40% to 45%(NTC 6116) [16]. Moreover, the addition of sucrose incremented the total solids, generating statistically significant differences. The pH was adjusted by acidification of the experimental liquid egg mixtures. The resulting values after pH adjustment were 8.2 \(\pm\) 0.2 for samples W and M1:3, and 7.2 \(\pm\) 0.2 for sample WE, prior to spray-drying. The acidification of the mixtures controlled the pH in the rehydrated egg powders at values below 10. The results of pH tests in the fresh liquid samples and in the rehydrated powders are shown in Table 2. The addition of 5% and 7.5% sucrose resulted in a drop in pH in their powders, a modification that was not observed with pH values in the experimental treatments having no addition of sucrose. The control and adjustment of pH is a routine process carried out in those industries in which dried eggs are manufactured to prevent excessive increases in pH in the reconstituted powder, so as to keep the levels under the maximum limit set in Colombian Technical Standard NTC 6116--Food Industries, Egg Products, which is based on international standards. Therein, quality requirements are established for those egg products (from hen eggs) used as ingredients in many processed food products. In this study, the pH values of the egg powders fall within the limits set by the Colombian Technical Standard NTC 6116 [16], in the range of 7.0-9.5 for whole eggs, and 8.0-10.0 for egg whites. The pH values within both of these ranges do not exceed pH 10, as [PERSON], et al. [7] have recommended for egg powders. On comparing the pH in the egg fresh product with that in the egg product reconstituted from powder, when using a one-way ANOVA, a significant difference was found between the products (\(p\)-value = 0.029). During the drying process, the heat exposure of basic branched-chain amino acids and the loss of CO\({}_{2}\) from the liquid product could lead to a pH increment in values up to 10 or higher if it is not adjusted by acidification of the fresh product previous to the drying process. Table 2 shows the pH adjusted in fresh egg samples to comply with Colombian Technical Standard NTC 6116 [16]. The effect on the physicochemical properties of dried egg products due to adding sucrose to the liquid components in eggs was evaluated from moisture content (MC, % \(w/w\), wet basis), Aw, pH, and WSI (%, \(w/w\)) measurements for each experimental treatment (see Table 3). The Aw in the dried egg products was significantly influenced by the sucrose added to the fresh egg mixtures (\(p\)-value = 0.001). [PERSON], et al. [11] observed that the addition of carbohydrates to fresh eggs before drying can modify water activity due to alterations in the structure and the superficial area of the egg powder.