Last night, while I was fast asleep, my first farm share delivery of the season arrived. I was so excited this morning to see the box of fresh produce at my door. I quickly opened it to see what was inside, and, to my surprise, there was a dozen eggs on top of the leafy greens, radishes, and garlic scape. It was a pleasant surprise, naturally, but then I grew concerned. These eggs had sat at room temperature in my apartment building for 6+ hours. Did I now have a carton of rotten eggs on my hands?
Here’s what the Egg Safety Center has to say:
Q1: How long are eggs that have been refrigerated, safe to eat?
Raw eggs maintain their freshness for 4-5 weeks after purchase if kept refrigerated continuously.
Q2: I just realized I left the egg carton on the kitchen counter overnight. Are the eggs safe to use?
The general rule is that if food items are at room temperature for more than 2 hours, the safest thing to do is to discard the product. If you leave eggs anywhere that is not refrigerated, the best thing to do is throw those eggs away and buy a new carton.
Uh oh. That doesn’t bode well for me. But this information is coming from an official egg safety organization that needs to be extremely cautious. I’m pretty serious about food safety, so I probably won’t use the eggs, but I found this great video on wikihow.com to do a test. Basically, if the eggs sink to the bottom in a bowl of water, they’re probably okay. If they float to the top, they’re most likely rotten. Watch this video:
For what it’s worth, in Australia the supermarkets don’t keep eggs in the refridgerated section. Haven’t had a dud one yet !
When I lived in Europe and bought groceries from individual stores, at the cheese store, the eggs were never refrigerated. They always sat on the counter. So I would double check about those eggs. Maybe even call your CSA to see what their recommendation is!
I’m sure the test wouldn’t hurt, but I also wouldn’t be overly concerned about eggs that sit out for a few hours–especially if they weren’t refrigerated before they came to you. (After all, chickens lay eggs at barn/outdoor temps and have done so for centuries.)
I usually crack each egg into a small cup and sniff it…you’ll definitely know when it’s gone off! (I’ve had eggs fail the float test but smell and taste OK)
Eggs are stored at room temperature in many other countries in Europe. US food safety rules are based on worst case scenarios and also based on commercial eggs, that can be 2-3 weeks old before they even get to the grocery store. The rules are overkill in this case especially farm fresh eggs. The floating test is fine, I use it if I find a hidden nest. You are worrying too much. Eggs as part of a CSA are most certainly fine after only a day out and could probably last a week or more at normal room temps.
If eggs are not refrigerated to start then they don’t need to be. So if they are coming from a CSA there is a good chance they were harvested and not refrigerated thus nothing to worry about.
I don’t think you have anything to worry about with the eggs. Whenever I visit England, I see eggs sitting on regular store shelves. They don’t refrigerate them at all in the store.
Kathleen, we are having parallel weeks. I got my first CSA box the other day too, and my eggs sat on my front walk for who knows how many hours (we found the box that night!). It wasn’t a particularly hot day, but just imagine, oh, late July! I wonder if the CSA website has anything to say about this….
I never had a refrigerated egg until I moved to America (from England) so they’re probably fine.
The important thing to remember though, is once you’ve done the floating test, you need to use the eggs straight away. Egg shells are porous and once they’ve been in water they’re not as protective as they were. So only test eggs right before you want to use them.
Thanks for all the great tips and advice. Kristin — we are having parallel weeks! I just heard back from the farmer of my CSA who said that the eggs can actually go without refrigeration for up to 3 days. Omelettes all around this weekend!
I have found that the FDA and all the food safety of America is wonderful to access (info), however, in ‘real life’ all over the world, some of these things aren’t followed, and, low and behold, we still live. Of course, some of these things aren’t followed, and that’s one of the reasons why people get sick from food-related illnesses more in these countries. But, I just thought I’d share that where I live right now (Mongolia), we often buy our eggs non-refrigerated, because that’s the way they’re sold in the market…and I’m hoping that the egg just “thinks” it’s been out with the chickens a bit longer…and that my refrigerator will take care of the egg once I get home! We’ve lived here for 4 1/2 months and so far haven’t been sick from any food (which amazes me!). The way meat, dairy, and eggs are handled here, is so different than what I think is safe…and yet we have been okay. The U.S. has very high standards, which is great, but also, I’m finding, just a little higher than might be needed.
Has anyone heard of crackers called “Firecracker Crackers ” ? My sister has tried them and would like to buy some. Does anyone know who makes them, or distributes them? thanks, Sharon Sims-Goynes
Yeah, I would investigate some more. In many European countries, uncooked eggs are kept out in the stores, and sometimes even after purchasing them.