How long can raw eggs be stored: how long can they be stored in the shell and without in the refrigerator, can they be frozen, how to increase the shelf life?

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Published: 03/05/2022

Reading time: 4 min

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In pursuit of profit, stores often try to sell all available goods, without caring about their quality and their reputation. Ordinary people fall for various marketing tricks and may buy expired goods. In particular, this applies to table testicles. To prevent this from happening, the buyer must be able to identify a rotten egg right in the store. They also deteriorate in the refrigerator. Testing using one of the known methods will help you avoid eating it.

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1 How should eggs be stored?
2 Health hazard
3 How to check the freshness of a boiled egg?
4 How to detect a rotten egg at home 4.1 Method No. 1 - you can check chicken eggs for freshness by dipping them in water
4.2 Method No. 2 - enlighten the testicle
4.3 Method No. 3 – transillumination with an ovoscope

5 Check in store

6 How to prevent salmonellosis?

How long to store - in shell or without?

The overall shelf life of raw eggs depends on the cleanliness and integrity of their shells. Since the shell is porous, any contamination quickly penetrates inside and spoils the contents, causing rot. Therefore, for long-term storage it is better to choose specimens with a clean, undamaged surface .

Do not wash with water before storing! The liquid, penetrating inside the shell, promotes the growth of bacteria and spoilage of the product. The soiled surface should be washed immediately before cooking.

You can find out how long broken eggs last in the refrigerator here.

In a refrigerator

Placed in a compartment where the temperature is maintained no higher than +4 degrees, the eggs are stored for 15-18 days. The shelled product is suitable for use within 2 days. The semi-liquid mass is kept in a glass, tightly closed jar or plastic container.

In room conditions

At a temperature of +20 +24 degrees, a raw egg in an intact shell will not spoil within 5-7 days. Once broken, it should be consumed within a few hours .

In the cellar

If there is no refrigerator, for example in a country house, raw eggs can be placed in a cellar or vegetable pit.

Even in the summer heat, the temperature there rarely exceeds +10 degrees, which almost corresponds to the parameters of the refrigerator compartment.

The cellar usually has high humidity, which is detrimental to long-term storage. Before storing in the cellar, the product must be placed in a plastic bag .

In the well

An original and very effective solution, since well water has a constant temperature of +4 +7 degrees. The eggs are placed in a tightly closed container that does not allow water to pass through, and they are lowered down on a rope so that the container with the product is in the water.

Permissible temperature according to SanPiN

According to GOST R 52121-2003, in order for chicken eggs to remain edible and retain all their beneficial properties, they must be kept:

in thermal mode from 0 °C to 20 °C for no more than 25 days;
when the temperature drops from 0°C to minus 2°C, their shelf life is 90 days.

Typically, in a home refrigerator, space is allocated on the door for storing eggs. In this case, it is worth considering that the door is the warmest part and the temperature in this zone ranges from +8 °C to +10 °C. This thermal regime is registered by SanPiN as suitable for raw eggs and preserving their positive qualities for up to one calendar month.

If there are a lot of eggs and you need to extend their shelf life, then you should choose a compartment called the freshness zone or zero chamber - a compartment located directly above the trays for vegetables and fruits. There the refrigerator maintains the temperature from 0°C to +2°C. But it is not recommended to abuse storage and keep them there for three months.

Frequently opening the refrigerator door entails temperature changes, which is also harmful to maintaining freshness. The safest way is to place the eggs in a cardboard box, which allows air to pass through and keeps the temperature around the eggs cool.

Can it be frozen?

Eggs without shells tolerate freezing well without changing their properties. At -18 degrees and below, they can be stored for up to a year. After thawing, the raw materials are used to prepare omelettes, scrambled eggs, and baked goods.

The contents of the shell are frozen:

in plastic bottles;
dense plastic bags with a zip fastener;
in portioned plastic containers.

When preparing a product for freezing, you can immediately separate the whites from the yolks, if this is required for further use.

This article will tell you about freezing eggs for long-term storage.

What happens if you eat a spoiled egg?

The main risk of eating eggs is salmonella infection, which is a form of food poisoning. Salmonella is a type of bacteria that can grow both on the shell and inside the yolk and white of eggs.

Symptoms of salmonellosis include (5):

diarrhea (diarrhea)
abdominal cramps
fever
vomit

According to the CDC, symptoms usually develop 6–48 hours after eating a contaminated egg and last about 4–7 days (6).

Most people recover from salmonella infections without antibiotics. However, people with severe symptoms may require hospitalization.

Salmonella infection is often more severe and dangerous in certain groups of people, including (7):

adults over 65 years old
children under 5 years old
people with weakened immune systems

Not everyone who eats a spoiled egg develops a salmonella infection.

Here are steps you can take to reduce your risk of salmonellosis (8):

washing hands and any objects that come into contact with raw eggs
storing eggs in the refrigerator
throwing away eggs after the expiration date
Cooking eggs thoroughly until the yolk and white are firm
using pasteurized eggs for dishes that call for raw or lightly cooked eggs

What to keep, what container to use?

The best storage container is cardboard or plastic cassettes with individual cells, where eggs are placed vertically, with the sharp end down.

You can use the containers in which they are sold in the store, provided that the packaging is clean and not deformed. It is not advisable to close the container; air should circulate freely.

You can hold the product:

in a basket in sawdust or shavings;
pan lined with paper towels.

It is advisable that the lying eggs do not touch each other.

Check in store

When choosing a product in a store, the buyer cannot determine whether an egg is rotten by placing it in water. In this situation, other methods will help to check for freshness.

The first thing you need to pay attention to is the expiration date. Manufacturers label products by indicating the category and production date.

Spoiled products can also be found within their expiration dates. Such situations are possible if the conditions of transportation or storage in the store are violated.

The most effective way, in this case, is to shake the testicle. By making quick movements up and down at ear level, the consumer should not hear any sounds. You can buy such a product without fear for the health and quality of the food. A gurgling noise, on the contrary, indicates more air inside the egg.

Food products with a lower weight characteristic of a specific category will not pass the quality test. For this method, you will need electronic scales, which are not available in every store.

Features of home storage

Having your own bird at home, you can get a high-quality product for storage, since the egg laid by a chicken is sterile.

All other things being equal, a homemade egg will remain fresh longer than a store-bought one . Freshly laid eggs with clean, undamaged shells are suitable for selection for storage.

If there is a choice between fertilized and dietary (there is no rooster in the poultry flock) eggs, then for storage you need to choose the second option. The absence of an embryo inhibits the development of putrefactive processes.

Transillumination

Candling is a method that producers use to check the quality of eggs. It involves using a bright light to inspect the eggs for signs of cracks and internal defects.

Egg producers typically use automatic conveyor belts and mechanical sensors to quickly and efficiently inspect large quantities of eggs. However, a person can also perform candling at home by holding the egg up to a bright light, such as a powerful flashlight or lamp, in a darkened room.

As with the float test, candling only tests the freshness of the egg. This method will not confirm whether the egg is safe to eat.

When you hold the egg up to the light, you should be able to see the air chamber inside it. The air chamber is a small sac or bubble that is usually present at the large end of the egg.

The egg is still fresh if the air chamber is less than 3mm deep. The larger the air sac, the older the egg (2).

How to increase the shelf life?

The shelf life can be extended by completely isolating the contents of the shell from the external environment . After all, product spoilage occurs due to air entering through the pores of the shell and its subsequent interaction with the protein and yolk.

Create a protective film using melted lard or candle wax, medical paraffin.

The action algorithm is as follows:

Dissolve fat or wax in a saucepan over a water bath.
Place clean eggs in a colander or frying mesh. Dip into the melted mixture to completely cover the product.
Leave in the solution for 20 seconds.
Dry without wiping.

Film-coated eggs can be kept in the cellar or refrigerator for up to a year, at room temperature for up to 4 months. They won't spoil.

Extends shelf life and vacuum . Fresh eggs are placed in a bag and the air is pumped out with a special device. In this form, the product will successfully last for several months in the refrigerator and up to 7 weeks at room temperature.

If dry fresh eggs, when placed in a container, are sprinkled with dry oven-calcined salt, fresh wood ash or sand, they can be kept at room temperature for more than 3 weeks. The contents of the shell will remain fresh.

The nutritional value of long-stored food, despite its suitability for use, is significantly inferior to the fresh product.

How to check the freshness of eggs

How to determine the freshness of an egg using water (photo source: Yandex.Images)

A unique test will help you avoid poisoning and salmonellosis, as well as ensure the quality of the product used. Before storing or eating eggs, you should check them for freshness. There are several methods for this.

Method 1: test in salt solution

Place a raw egg in a jar of saline solution (1 tablespoon per liter). Fresh ones will lie on their side at the bottom or rise slightly above the liquid level. If the egg floats or hangs in the solution, it means it is rotten.

Method 2: test in a frying pan

Crack the egg over a bowl to assess the condition of the white and yolk. The old product will not look cohesive, will become less compact and will spread over the surface. Loss of freshness is indicated by a watery consistency, a flat, easily bursting yolk, free floating of the yolk, and a transparent white (a bad product does not have a smoky tint to the white).

Method 3: by sound

Shake the egg against your ear and listen to the noise the liquid makes. If you don't hear anything, the product is fresh. If the sound of squelching is distinct, then most likely the product has spoiled - it is better not to eat it.

Determining the freshness of an egg by sound (photo source: Yandex.Pictures)

Method 4: according to cleaning speed

A fresh egg is difficult to peel because the shell sticks to the white. Conversely, a stale product is easy to clean, because it holds less well in the shell. Freshness can also be determined by the condition of the boiled egg - if the yolk has a greenish rim, it is better to discard it, as well as if there are blood spots.

Adviсe

Before storing for long-term storage, you need to make sure that the shell has no cracks, holes, sagging or other signs of deformation. If there are dry stains on the surface, remove them with a dry cloth.

It is necessary to avoid shaking eggs, as this leads to a violation of the integrity of the yolk contents and a decrease in shelf life.

Our ancestors, without refrigerators, often stored eggs in a lime solution. The method is simple and cheap. You will need slaked lime, a bucket with a lid or a jar and water .

Lime is diluted in cold water in a ratio of 1 to 5 and unwashed fresh eggs are immersed in it. Store for up to six months in room conditions, away from heating devices. Before use, rinse thoroughly.

Smell test

One of the easiest and most reliable ways to determine whether an egg has gone bad is to smell it.

A spoiled egg will give off an unpleasant odor when you open the shell. This smell will be present even if you have already cooked the egg.

In some cases, when the egg is very old or rotten, you may notice a foul odor before you break it.

If the egg smells bad, you need to get rid of it. Since this test is very reliable, it is recommended that you give each egg a good sniff before eating or using it.

Symptoms

Egg poisoning is most often a gastrointestinal form of acute salmonellosis.

Characteristic signs of the disease include:

nausea, single or repeated vomiting;
diarrhea (diarrhea);
moderate abdominal pain of various types, often cramping;
bloating due to increased gas formation (flatulence);
increased peristalsis of the small intestine with the appearance of rumbling;
signs of general intoxication (malaise, headache, weakness), increased body temperature, a tendency to lower blood pressure.

With severe intestinal disorders, the poisoned person soon shows signs of dehydration, which negatively affects his well-being. If the course of the disease is unfavorable, a generalized form of salmonellosis develops, when signs of toxic damage to the heart, kidneys, liver, and brain are noted. The condition of the poisoned person is serious and requires urgent hospitalization; fortunately, this form is rare.

What to do with delays

You can identify an expired product based on several criteria, including bad smell, lack of presentation, etc.

If the expired item was purchased in a store and noticed immediately, then according to the law, the consumer has the right to return it to the retail outlet on the terms of a refund of the money spent.

If poultry farm products have deteriorated at home, they must be disposed of immediately, since after this the salmonella virus is activated and hydrogen sulfide appears. They cause poisoning in people, and in some cases lead to death.

It is strictly forbidden to eat expired food.

Causes of poisoning

Content:

Causes of poisoning
Symptoms of egg poisoning
First aid for poisoning
Preventive actions

An egg is a kind of closed environment, which is isolated from external influences and has its own bacteria. If this product is cooled in time or subjected to proper heat treatment, then there will be no proliferation of microorganisms. If important rules are not followed, bacteria will spread quickly and the product will be spoiled.

You can be poisoned by eggs if you do not follow the rules for storing the product, if you eat it raw, or if the shell is damaged. Not everyone knows that poisoning can occur after eating fresh eggs. This is facilitated by the causative agent of salmonellosis, a disease that can be transmitted to humans from domestic animals and birds.

Most often, infection of the body occurs in cases where a person eats dishes prepared from a raw product: homemade mayonnaise, sauce, protein cream, pudding. Bacteria spread on eggshells from the inside. Externally, it is almost impossible to distinguish an infected egg from a normal one. In addition, salmonella doubles every half hour. The danger lies in the fact that it is impossible to determine the presence of a pathogen either by external signs or by taste. Salmonella does not respond to low temperatures, water, drying and salt. It can die only after prolonged boiling. The incubation period for this disease can last from 2 hours to three days.

This disease is not fatal and extremely rarely leads to death. Symptoms of poisoning usually last no more than a week. In order not to endanger your health, you should wash food well and heat treat it.

How long do eggs last at room temperature?

Without a refrigerator, boiled eggs are stored for no longer than half a day, and if cracks appear on the shell during cooking, then only five hours.

The maximum permissible temperature is 20°C , important factors are also: humidity (up to 85%), lack of sunlight (meaning direct rays), drafts and temperature changes. After long-term storage, the shell must be processed.

Raw dietary eggs retain their freshness for only 7 days, table eggs for up to 25, washed for no longer than 12 days. This is due to the fact that in factories all testicles are treated with a special solution of 1.5% hydrogen peroxide, which prevents the pores from becoming clogged with dirt.

Water washes away this solution and germs and dirt can get into the pores. Therefore, it is best to wash food immediately before cooking and store it in a special container.