- Feb 21, 2004
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After making a nice omelet for breakfast, I left the eggs out all day and just found them. That's ~14 hours and it's ~65 degrees in the house.
Should I toss 'em?
Should I toss 'em?
No. People frequently leave eggs out for a few days, if they know they're going to eat them relatively soon. You're a-okay.
I know people do that with fresh eggs from their own chickens, but isn't it different with eggs from the store?
The USDA requires that eggs always be refrigerated by the provider. Therefore, there is very little bacteria proliferaton. Eggs will frequently remain "fresh" for up to a week without refrigeration. There shouldn't be more than a few days difference between fresh farm eggs and a carton of eggs you buy from the store. Why would they be any different? If they weren't refrigerated, I could understand the wariness, but there shouldn't be much variation between farm-fresh eggs and store-bought eggs.
My thought was along the lines of this. Farm-fresh eggs are fine to leave out a few days right after being removed from the chickens and afterward need to be refrigerated. I thought that there might be something in the eggs when they were fresh that would keep them safe to be left out that wouldn't be present after being refrigerated for a month.
It was just a thought I had with no basis of research or anything like that. I just did some research, and it seems that the problem with unrefrigerated eggs is how quickly they age rather than an increase in unsafe bacteria. It's estimated that refrigerated eggs last 3-5 weeks, whereas unrefrigerated eggs would last 3-5 days.
The French would rather eat and make love with their faces than fight.I read somewhere that the french do not refrigerate their eggs at all and they still keep for at least a couple weeks.
Doing a google search seems to confirm that they do not refrigerate however I havent found anything about how long it takes for them to spoil.
The French would rather eat and make love with their faces than fight.
I read somewhere that the french do not refrigerate their eggs at all and they still keep for at least a couple weeks.
Doing a google search seems to confirm that they do not refrigerate however I havent found anything about how long it takes for them to spoil.
Most of the world laughs at people in the US. We have all the expense of refrigerating eggs and they never refrigerate eggs (without problems). Go to a supermarket in most countries and you'll see the eggs are sitting out on the shelves. They last for weeks that way without any health issues. We just worry about nothing.
As an aside, only 1 out of 10,000 eggs have salmonella internally (source CDC). With rates that low, internal bacteria isn't something to really worry about, even if you let them sit out for days and even if you eat them raw.
You asked if it is okay to leave out eggs. I gave concrete examples of why it is okay to leave out eggs. And your response is "who cares"? If you didn't care, then why bother to create the thread?Who cares, it's not like my fridge is too full or anything.
You asked if it is okay to leave out eggs. I gave concrete examples of why it is okay to leave out eggs. And your response is "who cares"? If you didn't care, then why bother to create the thread?
Technically I asked if the eggs would be ok after being out for one day only. The answer is yes. I suppose if you can leave them out for a week then one day is included within that data set.
Also... 1/10000 eggs may have salmonella. I think that's a good enough reason to not eat them raw. Let's say you eat an egg a day on average; that gives you 365/10,000 = 3.7% chance of eating one with salmonella in any given year. So, you've a pretty good chance of getting a "bad egg" within a few years. Reason enough to cook 'em, I'd say.
The USDA requires that eggs always be refrigerated by the provider. Therefore, there is very little bacteria proliferaton. Eggs will frequently remain "fresh" for up to a week without refrigeration. There shouldn't be more than a few days difference between fresh farm eggs and a carton of eggs you buy from the store. Why would they be any different? If they weren't refrigerated, I could understand the wariness, but there shouldn't be much variation between farm-fresh eggs and store-bought eggs.
Am I to understand that in America eggs are all refrigerated at the store? And this is done to comply with the law? That's idiotic, and it's no wonder that America is the largest user of energy per capita by far. What a complete and total waste of energy. Eggs last weeks at room temperature - I refrigerate mine at home because I want them to last even longer, but they're sold from store shelves unrefrigerated.
That someone would be worried about leaving an egg out for a day is laughable.
While I understand your stance, your tone is a bit harsh. Look at it from our (average consumer) POV - the vast majority of us have never raised chickens. Our entire lives we've gotten eggs from the grocery store where they are always refrigerated.Am I to understand that in America eggs are all refrigerated at the store? And this is done to comply with the law? That's idiotic, and it's no wonder that America is the largest user of energy per capita by far. What a complete and total waste of energy. Eggs last weeks at room temperature - I refrigerate mine at home because I want them to last even longer, but they're sold from store shelves unrefrigerated.
That someone would be worried about leaving an egg out for a day is laughable.