Part 1 Pre-harvest safety

• 1.Advances in understanding pathogen contamination of eggs: Koen de Reu, ILVO, Belgium;


• 2.Advances in understanding and enhancing egg natural defences against pathogens: Nicolas Guyot, INRAE, France;


• 3.Advances in shell egg safety regulation and oversight: Vincent Guyonnet, University of Montreal, Canada;


• 4.On-farm monitoring of layer flock health using sensors and modern data analytics: Andrea Pezzuolo, University of Padua, Italy;

Part 2 Postharvest safety

• 5.The use of edible coatings to improve the safety and extend the shelf life of eggs: Paula Gabriela da Silva Pires, Federal University Rio Grande Do Sul, Brazil;


• 6.Pasteurisation treatments for whole and/or liquid egg: Valerie Lechevalier, Agrocampus-Ouest, France;


• 7.Advances in non-thermal postharvest egg sterilisation techniques to optimise egg safety and quality: Brendan Niemira, USDA-ARS, USA;

Part 3 Quality

• 8.Developing and implementing shell egg quality standards: Takehiko Hayakawa, DSM, Japan;


• 9.Advances in non-destructive testing of egg quality: Silvia Grassi, University of Milan, Italy;


• 10.Advances in understanding eggshell formation and composition in table eggs: Joel Gautron, INRAE, France;


• 11.Advances in understanding and exploiting the genetics of egg quality: Petek Settar, Hy-Line International, USA;


• 12.Regulation of calcium metabolism in laying hens: Michel Duclos, INRAE, France;


• 13.Biofortification of eggs: Tom Hill, University of Newcastle, UK;


• 14.Advances in welfare as a quality indicator in egg production: Angela Trocino, University of Padua, Italy;

Part 4 Improving the sustainability of egg production

• 15.Assessing the environmental impact of egg production systems: Vincent Guyonnet, University of Montreal, Canada;


• 16.Improving sustainability of egg production by extending the laying period for hens: Tuen van de Braak, Hendrix Genetics, The Netherlands;


• 17.Strategies to reduce emissions from layer production systems: Peter Groot Koerkamp, Wageningen University and Research, The Netherlands;

Michel Duclos is Research Director (1st class) at INRAE (previously INRA where he led the Avian Research Unit (Unité de Recherches Avicoles) from 2008 to 2016. He is presently Senior Scientist in this unit, now called Avian Biology and Poultry Research (BOA), and is the Vice President of the French branch of the World Poultry Science Association.