I purchased some Costco eggs and forgot to place them within the fridge. They sat in a cooler chest (no ice) within the kitchen for over twelve hours. I threw them away. My brother mentioned, “Oh they’ll be high-quality. We depart our eggs out on a regular basis.” I used to be horrified. It’s not like they’re shopping for farm eggs the place you’ll be able to perhaps get away with that. I instructed him it was an unsafe apply and he shook me off. Am I off base? Might I’ve exhausting boiled them and been okay?
— Voraciously stay chat reader
Readers had lots to say after I cited the standard government advice about egg refrigeration. Some folks instructed me eggs ought to “by no means” be refrigerated, and others provided the (anecdotal) proof that they’d by no means gotten sick from room-temperature eggs, implying that refrigeration was subsequently pointless. Nonetheless extra famous that in different components of the world, eggs are routinely saved on the counter.
“The refrigeration requirement we now have in america is predicated on science,” says Deana Jones, a analysis meals technologist on the U.S. Nationwide Poultry Analysis Middle, a part of the USDA Agricultural Analysis Service.
Right here’s what you want to find out about why it’s finest to refrigerate eggs.
Refrigeration is a matter of meals security
The commonest pathogen related to eggs is salmonella, micro organism typically present in chickens’ intestinal tracts, says Amy Johnston, a regional extension educator in meals security on the College of Minnesota. Whereas this may occasionally not sicken the hen, the micro organism could be deposited on the eggs as they’re laid after which doubtlessly handed on to folks. (The European Union has regulations in place concerning vaccinating chickens in opposition to one pressure of salmonella to assist scale back unfold and contamination; it’s not required in the United States, although some producers do it.)
Some strains of salmonella will extra readily infect folks than others, however all may cause sickness, Jones says. The USDA recommends that eggs at dwelling be refrigerated at 40 levels Fahrenheit or simply beneath (producers can retailer and transport them at as much as 45 levels). At hotter temperatures, “you’re placing issues in a extra constructive environment” for bacterial development, Jones says.
Like every other perishable commodity, eggs are additionally vulnerable to organisms that trigger spoilage, Jones says. Refrigeration offers a much less hospitable setting for them to thrive as effectively.
Heating, or reheating, meals will not be an alternative choice to correct meals storage. Whereas 165 levels is the temperature at which most pathogenic organisms will probably be killed, some micro organism might launch toxins which might be secure to a better temperature, Jones says. Plus, undercooked eggs, whether or not intentional or not, are usually not unusual, particularly in dwelling kitchens the place folks will not be confirming temperatures with a digital thermometer.
It’s vital to maintain beforehand refrigerated eggs chilly
At 45 levels within the fridge, eggs are dry and chilly, Johnston says. As quickly as they’re dropped at room temperature, the eggs start to sweat, and condensation types on the shells. Among the many numerous components that may encourage bacterial development are moisture and heat temperatures, Johnston says, which is precisely what you get when beforehand refrigerated eggs sit out. Micro organism can as a lot as double each 20 minutes, and people micro organism might journey from the floor of the shell by its pores into the egg yolk and white.
Refrigerated eggs keep high quality longer
In 2018, Jones was a part of a crew that published a study evaluating 4 egg remedy and storage strategies: washed and refrigerated at about 39 levels Fahrenheit; unwashed and refrigerated; unwashed and saved at room temperature, or about 72 levels; and washed, coated with mineral oil and refrigerated.
“There are drastic variations in how egg high quality declined,” when evaluating refrigerated to unrefrigerated, Jones says. The research examined the standard of the eggs primarily based on the USDA’s grading standards, with AA thought of the very best high quality, adopted by A after which B. Refrigerated eggs maintained their AA grade for 15 weeks, whereas unrefrigerated eggs dropped to B grade inside every week.
Furthermore, it took lower than 24 hours for the bodily qualities of the room temperature egg yolks (top, width) to be impacted greater than the three refrigerated sorts have been over the course of 15 weeks.
Egg cuticles provide restricted safety
Eggs are ruled by state and federal requirements for operations. The eggs you sometimes purchase on the grocery retailer are washed to make sure high quality requirements and to cut back the chance of spoilage or food-borne sickness, Jones says. The method sometimes includes a warm-water spray wash with a food-safe detergent answer and brushes, adopted by a heat sanitizing rinse. Then the eggs are blown dry earlier than being packaged. (Farm eggs from smaller producers might not obtain this identical remedy, relying on state legal guidelines.)
Washing doesn’t occur in some components of the world — and quite a few commenters on our chat argued that this leaves the cuticle on the floor of the shell intact in order that the eggs could be saved at room temperature.
However Jones gives this warning: “The cuticle will not be for you.” The cuticle is a water-based, higher-protein coating that’s deposited on the egg because it’s being laid. Its function is to guard the embryo contained in the egg — not shield you in opposition to food-borne sickness. The cuticle begins to degrade and slough off virtually as quickly because the egg is laid, to permit for air to achieve the embryo within the occasion it is going to hatch right into a rooster (if the eggs have been fertilized).
One other word about washing: The federal government doesn’t suggest customers wash eggs themselves, whether or not homegrown or purchased from farms, as this will introduce micro organism into the eggs.
The place you retailer your eggs is in the end as much as you, and it’s important to resolve how a lot of a threat you’re keen to take and why, Jones says, emphasizing that the federal government recommendation is predicated on “scientific rationale.” Youngsters, aged folks and immune-compromised people are extra vulnerable to issues from food-borne sicknesses akin to salmonella, however they will lay anybody low.
Ultimately, there may be little or no price — or threat — related to storing eggs within the fridge. I discover the advantages of longer-lasting eggs, particularly with fluctuating costs, and peace of thoughts are effectively well worth the fridge actual property.
As a result of totally different refrigeration and storage guidelines might apply to the place smaller producers promote eggs, akin to straight from their farm or at an organized market, Johnston recommends familiarizing your self together with your state’s guidelines and inquiring with the producer about their practices.
clarification
This text has been up to date to incorporate further context about vaccination of chickens in opposition to salmonella.
