Do I need to keep eggs in the refrigerator?

Why eggs are dangerous

The main health hazard is not the eggs themselves, but the salmonella bacteria. They live in the intestines of many warm-blooded animals. There they behave peacefully, but when they get into the food, they become dangerous to humans.

Salmonella causes serious diseases - typhus and salmonellosis. Their main symptoms are nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. They can be deadly for the elderly, young children, and anyone with a weakened immune system or severe chronic illness.

Salmonella ends up on the table with poorly washed vegetables, meat and eggs. In Russia, up to 50,000 people fall ill with salmonellosis a year.

For safety, food that goes to stores (and these stores themselves) is constantly checked by sanitary services, but it will still not be possible to completely protect against bacteria.

At a temperature of 4 ° C, the growth of Salmonella stops, and if the egg is heated to 71 ° C, all bacteria will die.

Eggs, for example, can contain bacteria both on the outside if they get on the shell, and on the inside if the chicken has been infected and Salmonella penetrated the egg before the shell is formed. And the risk of infection depends on how these eggs were stored and cooked.

Salmonella, although acquiring resistance to different drugs, is still more or less the same everywhere. But the question of where to store the eggs depends on how they deal with them in the country.

Why do Americans keep eggs in the refrigerator?

In the United States, salmonella is destroyed externally - eggs are cleaned before they are sold. They are washed in hot water, treated with a disinfectant solution. They do about the same in Japan, Australia and the Scandinavian countries.

Salmonella is removed from the shell, but such washing does not solve the problem of internal bacteria in the egg.

In addition, during the cleaning process, the thin protective film that covers the eggs is destroyed. Because of this, bacteria that the egg encounters after washing can easily penetrate the shell.

Salmonella do not die in the refrigerator, but they do not multiply either.

Therefore, eggs processed outside are stored in a refrigerator at a temperature not exceeding 7 ° C. Everything that went into the refrigerator should not heat up anymore. This is important: if such clean eggs have been dragged out into the heat several times, then washing can be wasted.

Why are they not putting eggs in the refrigerator in Europe?

This is not to say that there is no salmonellosis in Europe at all., but eggs are not specially processed. They rely on vaccinations and sanitary conditions. …

But it is impossible to wash eggs in most EU countries, so as not to destroy the natural barriers to infection, which keep food fresh for up to three weeks. But the refrigerator is optional. Of course, eggs still cannot be stored at high temperatures, they must be refrigerated, but the temperature should not be close to zero.

What to do with eggs in Russia

In our country, Rospotrebnadzor and sanitary and veterinary inspections are responsible for the quality of eggs, which check whether all poultry farms comply with sanitary norms and rules. …

Eggs and poultry (as well as other animals) must be regularly examined, and if infected animals are found, vaccinate, process products and properly fight the infection. … That is, we are trying to prevent contamination even at the production stage. Therefore, the eggs you buy from the countryside can be more dangerous than the eggs from the factory. All households cannot be tested for Salmonella.

We don't wash the shells by standards. If eggs are intended for long-term storage, they should not be washed. But you can't sell dirty either. … Eggs have a tight shelf life.

Type of eggs	Storage temperature	Shelf life
Diet	from 0 to 20 ° С	7 days
Canteens	from 0 to 2 ° С	no more than 120 days
	not higher than 20 ° С	25 days

That is, in Russia you can not put eggs in the refrigerator, but only if for a short time. Rospotrebnadzor, by the way, advises to wash the already purchased eggs and place them in the refrigerator so that Salmonella does not jump all over the refrigerator from the shell to the food and vice versa. … And at the same time give up fried eggs, soft-boiled eggs and sauces with raw eggs.

How to store eggs in the refrigerator

As it is already clear from sanitary standards, eggs cannot be stored for very long. The refrigerator inhibits the growth of bacteria and prolongs the shelf life, but when storing eggs, you need to take into account the nuances:

Eggs absorb odors … For example, they start to smell like onions or fish. To prevent this from happening, store eggs in closed containers (and it is better to cover food that smells strong).
Eggs must not be placed on the door … It is important not only to put eggs in the refrigerator - they need a special place, preferably near the back wall. Because on the door, constant temperature drops destroy the shell's protection and provoke the growth of bacteria. …
Cold eggs are not good for baking. If you are going to send eggs to a cake or pies, they must first be warmed to room temperature.

If you are going to use your eggs quickly, you do not need to put them in the refrigerator. It is enough to store it in a cool place in the room and wash it right before cooking.