Lescarde at the Third International Congress of Refrigeration described a method of preserving eggs by refrigeration in sterile air. The eggs are placed on end in horizontal fillers made of pasteboard and wood; then these fillers are put into tin cases which can be hermetically sealed, each case having a capacity of six fillers containing 160 eggs. The covers of the filled cases are then soldered, and the cases are deposited in an autoclave (digester) which contains twelve cases of 960 eggs each. A vacuum is then made in the autoclave, and a duly proportioned mixture of two gases, carbon dioxid and nitrogen, is injected. This process is very simple, because carbon dioxid and nitrogen, in the form of compressed or liquefied gases, are on the market now, so that the manipulation of a few cocks and the reading of a gauge suffice to produce the proper mixture. The process in the autoclave having been completed, the cases are taken out, hermetically sealed, and stored in cold-storage rooms, at a temperature varying from 1 to 20 C. The chief advantages accruing from the preservation of eggs in sterile air are the following: (1) Waste, of such importance in ordinary cold storage, is completely eliminated. (2) The eggs retain a perfectly "fresh" flavor, and consequently they remain excellent for table use even after ten months' storage; they also retain their full weight, because no evaporation is possible in the tin cases. (3) After their removal from the cold-storage rooms the eggs remain in perfect condition for a long time and can be shipped long distances without deterioration; this constitutes a signal superiority over the ordinary cold-storage eggs, which deteriorate rapidly after having been taken out of cold storage. The reason for this is simple: the antiseptic air which surrounds them for several months, together with the cold, absolutely destroy all bacteria which may be on the shell of the egg or in its substance. Deterioration cannot set in except by reinfection, which is produced only by exposure to the air for several weeks. By reason of the above-mentioned advantages, eggs preserved in sterile air find a ready market and command much higher prices in winter than ordinary cold-storage eggs, or even the so-called "fresh" imported eggs. The cost of treatment and preservation amount to 15 francs per thousand.

(Quoted from The Journal of the American Medical Association)