In the UK eggs must not be washed and are kept at room temperature

November 23rd, 2018 at 3:19:28 PM permalink
Pacomartin
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 1068
Posts: 12569
UK laws make it illegal for egg producers to wash their eggs or clean them in any way.

Why? It’s done to make sure that egg producers have a clear interest in ensuring the conditions their eggs laying chickens are kept in are the best possible. They can’t afford to have chickens wallowing around in filth, or chicken poo as it’ll get on the eggs and they can do nothing that will remove it. The egg contains a film on the outside to protect its contents. That film is destroyed by washing and its removal is more likely to result in contamination.

If you need to wash eggs then your chickens haven’t been kept in clean and tidy surroundings. If you don’t look after your chickens then how can you be trusted to keep the egg washing water clean?

Go to a UK supermarket and you won’t find the eggs in a fridge or chiller - they’re on an ordinary shelf at shop temperature. There’s a reason for that - it stops any risk of moisture getting on the egg and damaging that protective covering - like taking the eggs from a cold fridge to a warm car would do (condensation)…

About 90% of the UK’s eggs are from chickens that have been innoculated against salmonella. Doesn’t matter what you do about the eggs after they’re laid - if the chicken has salmonella then there’s a good chance the eggs will have it too. The eggs that are from “safe” chickens have a stylised red lion stamped on them.

The 10% that aren’t lion marked are sold by farms direct and probably account for all of the UK’s cases of egg origin human salmonella cases which are just short of 600 a year. Scaled up to the US in terms of population (roughly 5X) about 3000 cases of egg origin salmonella would be expected in the US if it dealt with eggs the same way we did in the UK. But, you don’t and the number of egg origin cases of salmonella in the US is about 142,000 - 182,000 a year..
November 23rd, 2018 at 5:18:03 PM permalink
odiousgambit
Member since: Oct 28, 2012
Threads: 154
Posts: 5055
I suppose the FDA [or whoever] has heard these arguments and has an answer for them

we get our eggs from a local source - noticeably better . Except I cook a lot of hard boiled eggs this time of year, since they are good to take with you outdoors. For those we use supermarket eggs and save about a buck a dozen.
I'm Still Standing, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah [it's an old guy chant for me]
November 23rd, 2018 at 8:13:52 PM permalink
Evenbob
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 146
Posts: 25010
Quote: odiousgambit
Except I cook a lot of hard boiled eggs this time of year


Been using the Instant Pot. 5 min at
pressure, 5 min after pressure release,
put eggs in ice water. The eggs almost peel
themselves. It makes you want to laugh
hysterically..
If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose.
November 24th, 2018 at 4:21:16 AM permalink
odiousgambit
Member since: Oct 28, 2012
Threads: 154
Posts: 5055
Bob, you mentioned this before and I tried it - and I have found that it works pretty good. I have an old leaky pressure cooker I use for the eggs [unfixable thing about that] and I suspect a better one would work even better

also what works is your technique. Get it started with a crack on the rounder end which usually has a small air pocket. Then manipulate the egg so that it releases from the shell. The idea is not to crack up the shell more but to gently get it to release while keeping the shell in as big of pieces as possible

PS I have a better pressure cooker but it is really too big to haul around just for eggs, so maybe I should get one of the new things you mention

PPS: checking out the internet, the only thing much different I see is putting the egg in a glass of water and shaking it. This evidently also makes the egg release from the shell
I'm Still Standing, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah [it's an old guy chant for me]