Egg Food Safety
Freshly laid eggs can be left out at room temperature for at least a month before your need to start thinking about moving them into the fridge.
Here in Fangorn, we collect our eggs daily and when we box them we add a date for 21 days after they were laid. This ensures that when you pick up any eggs from us, you know that they are fresh and safe to eat. In the event that eggs are not claimed before that date, we hard boil them and give them back to the hens to help them replace vital minerals and provide additional nutrition.
Calcium is a vital mineral to laying hens since the egg shell is primarily made of Calcium Carbonate. You can find more information on the Egg shells page if you are interested in nature’s perfect packaging system.
But the eggs are sometimes dirty…
In Europe, it is unlawful to wash eggs because this process is believed to damage an outside layer of the egg shell known as the cuticle, making it easier for bacteria to penetrate the inside of an egg. Washing an egg will degrade this protective cuticle and necessitate that the egg is refrigerated to preserve freshness and slow any bacteria infiltration through the now exposed shell pores.
There is no harm in washing eggs just prior to using them for cooking.
Sometimes, too dirty…
If an egg is too heavily soiled, it will not be boxed but instead returned to the hens (much to their delight!).