Egg Safety Tips

Consumers have always been warned by the authorities that eggs contain salmonella. Some eggs do contain salmonella, but the risk is actually low if you look at the 2002 study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The study (Risk Analysis April 2002 22(2):203-18) showed that of the 69 billion eggs produced annually, only 2.3 million of them were contaminated with salmonella.

This means only one in every 30,000 eggs were contaminated with salmonella.

It's unlikely but but it happens.

Salmonella infections are usually present only in traditionally raised commercial hens. If you are purchasing your eggs from healthy chickens this infection risk reduces dramatically. Only sick chickens lay salmonella-contaminated eggs. If you are obtaining high quality, cage-free, organically fed, high omega-3 (result from pasture-feeding)chicken eggs, the risk virtually disappears.

Here are some egg safety tips:    adapted from Mercola.com

1. Always check the freshness of the egg right before you consume the yolk.
2. If you are uncertain about the freshness of an egg, don't eat it. This is one of the best safeguards against salmonella infection.
3. If there is a crack in the shell, don't eat it. You can easily check for this by immersing the egg in a pan of cool, salted water. If the egg emits a tiny stream of bubbles, don't consume it as the shell is porous/contains a hole.
4. If you are getting your eggs fresh* from a farmer, ask about refrigeration. In most cases, it is best to not refrigerate them for maximum nutrition. Unrefrigerated is the manner in which most of the world stores their eggs. To properly judge the freshness of an egg, its contents need to be at room temperature. Eggs that are stored in the fridge and opened immediately after taking them out will seem fresher than they actually are. Eggs that you want to check the freshness of should be kept outside the fridge for at least an hour prior to opening them.
5. First, check all the eggs by rolling them across a flat surface. Only consume them if they roll wobbly.
6. Open the egg. If the egg white is watery instead of gel-like, don't consume the egg. If the egg yolk is not convex and firm, don't consume the egg. If the egg yolk easily bursts, don't consume the egg.
7. After opening the egg you can put it up to your nose and smell it. If it smells foul you will certainly not want to consume it.

You can go to the American Egg board for a good overview of eggs.

*Commercial eggs are all power-washed. Some people say unwashed eggs (if produced under hygenic, polyculture conditions like you find in small farms) are better because they naturally contain an invisible membrane on the outside of the egg that seals in air and keeps out bacteria. This is what supposedly allows you to keep them unrefrigerated. Washing eggs removes this natural membrane, and commercial producers have to spray the eggs with a substitute sealant. Of course, that artificial sealant isn't as effective as nature's, so here in the US, unrefrigerated eggs spoil very quickly.

Under the right conditions, power washing is unnecessary. Joel Salatin, the exalted farmer in Omnivore's Dilemma, says in this article that accredited labs can't find even a trace of salmonella in his unwashed eggs or in the chicken manure. The eggs I have bought from Marin Sun Farms and Three Wise Hens (Eatwell Farm) keep for a long time in a basket on my counter. I haven't been able to determine if they power wash their eggs. Their sites say nothing on the topic. I'll report back when I find out, or please  comment if you know the scoop. (4/29/07 update: See my comment below)

Comments

I had thought exactly what you say here, but when I bought eggs from Marin Sun Farms and also Eatwell, they told me to keep them refrigerated. They said they are required to wash them in order to sell them and once they are washed they should be refrigerated. Am I mistaken?

[Carla]

Amy,
I have never refrigerated Marin Sun's or Eatwell's eggs. I wonder if they are telling people that now just as a CYA (cover-your-arse) strategy. Also, there is a difference between washing and "power washing".
In any case, most of the people that I know who buy their eggs don't refrigerate them. I imagine that the incidence of salmonella on these farms is very, very small. The stat above (1 in 30k) is for factory farmed eggs; you can extrapolate from there how much cleaner, and therefore safer, their eggs are.
Carla

[Carla]

Ok, I was at the Farmer's Market yesterday and talked to Dave at Marin Suns Farms. He does not power wash the eggs. If an egg is visibly dirty, he will take the egg and wash it by hand with a mild organic soap.

[Jill]

Eggs can be contaminated by Salmonella as the egg develops in the hen. The best way to protect yourself is to avoid cracked eggs and cook eggs thoroughly. Once cooked consume or keep refrigerated.

[Jill]

Eggs can be contaminated by Salmonella as the egg develops in the hen. The best way to protect yourself is to avoid cracked eggs and cook eggs thoroughly. Once cooked consume or keep refrigerated.

[Ruth]

I have just started raising chickens ,they are doing great and laying lots of eggs, I`ve been refigerating as soon as I take them from the nest. I understand that it is better to store unwashed and on counter till ready to use. What would be the shelf life on these eggs? Thank you for the help. Ruth