Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
Candling is a non-destructive method used in the egg industry to assess the internal quality of an egg. It involves shining a bright light through the egg to illuminate its contents.
Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
During candling, several quality factors can be observed:
- Air cell size: A smaller air cell indicates a fresher egg.
- Yolk condition: The yolk should be centered and its outline indistinct.
- Albumen (white) condition: The white should be clear and firm.
- Defects: The light reveals abnormalities such as cracks in the shell, and internal defects like blood spots (from a ruptured blood vessel during ovulation) or meat spots (tissue from the oviduct).
The other options are less accurate:
- (B) "Hazards" is too general. A blood spot could be considered a quality hazard, but it's not a safety hazard.
- (C) The vitelline membrane (which encloses the yolk) is a normal part of every egg; candling assesses its integrity, not its mere presence.
- (D) Microorganisms are too small to be seen by candling, although spoilage caused by them (e.g., a "black rot") might be visible.
Step 4: Final Answer:
Candling is an effective method for detecting internal defects, the most common of which is a blood spot. Therefore, option (A) is the correct answer.