# Eggs



## pappabee (Jun 22, 2010)

OK now I've got a real hard one for everyone. In the US we find eggs in a cooler and we are told to keep them in a refrigerator. Now down here we find them in stores sitting out. Even WalMart has eggs just sitting on display but not cooled.

What gives? Do we have different eggs here? Have we been fooled over the years? How long can eggs be kept o'natural and still be safe to eat?


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## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

pappabee said:


> OK now I've got a real hard one for everyone. In the US we find eggs in a cooler and we are told to keep them in a refrigerator. Now down here we find them in stores sitting out. Even WalMart has eggs just sitting on display but not cooled.
> 
> What gives? Do we have different eggs here? Have we been fooled over the years? How long can eggs be kept o'natural and still be safe to eat?


Just to relate this from another poster here. Eggs in the US are washed of their waxy coating that protects them from allowing air to enter through the shell. In Mexico eggs are not washed therefore do not need to be refrigerated. They are safe. I have on occasion seen what looks like stains on eggs in Mexico and chose another carton. I raised 7 hens at one time and eggs can get dirty.


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## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

pappabee said:


> OK now I've got a real hard one for everyone. In the US we find eggs in a cooler and we are told to keep them in a refrigerator. Now down here we find them in stores sitting out. Even WalMart has eggs just sitting on display but not cooled.
> 
> What gives? Do we have different eggs here? Have we been fooled over the years? How long can eggs be kept o'natural and still be safe to eat?


I forgot to mention. The dark yellow yokes that happen in the US when the eggs are not fresh are always dark yellow in most of Central Mexico because they feed them the seeds of the marigold plant, which is bright yellow. Don't let that throw you off.


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## Guest (Dec 1, 2011)

pappabee said:


> OK now I've got a real hard one for everyone. In the US we find eggs in a cooler and we are told to keep them in a refrigerator.
> 
> What gives? Do we have different eggs here? Have we been fooled over the years? How long can eggs be kept o'natural and still be safe to eat?


You can pin this on the FDA in the US. Their rules require that all eggs are maintained at 45ºF or less through the supply chain. Even so, they still have salmonella outbreaks.

I have a sneaking suspicion that Great grandma never stuck her eggs in the icebox, but then again, she picked them up that morning from her own hens. The shells were a lot stronger too because Grandma didn't throw out the shells, she fed them to her chickens for the calcium. Factory farms and modern agriculture have changed the rules, and they don't use much calcium in their feeds here in MX even though calcium is cheaper than the other feed ingredients.

If you stick your eggs in the refrigerator, then it's probably best to maintain them there until you use them. Temperature changes aren't kind to eggs.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

GringoCArlos said:


> You can pin this on the FDA in the US. Their rules require that all eggs are maintained at 45ºF or less through the supply chain. Even so, they still have salmonella outbreaks.
> 
> I have a sneaking suspicion that Great grandma never stuck her eggs in the icebox, but then again, she picked them up that morning from her own hens. The shells were a lot stronger too because Grandma didn't throw out the shells, she fed them to her chickens for the calcium. Factory farms and modern agriculture have changed the rules, and they don't use much calcium in their feeds here in MX even though calcium is cheaper than the other feed ingredients.
> 
> If you stick your eggs in the refrigerator, then it's probably best to maintain them there until you use them. Temperature changes aren't kind to eggs.


I keep eggs in the refrigerator once I get them home from the store. They keep longer and seem fresher than eggs I consumed in the U.S.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Eggs in Mexico are fresher than in the USA, where they may be much older and maintained in refrigerated storage.
When we sailed the Pacific for a few years, we obtained our eggs directly from the producer, unwashed and fresh that day. We bought a few 30 dozen cases and washed them, one egg at a time, in vegetable oil, coating them thoroughly and checking for cracks. They were then returned to the cases and placed aboard our schooner without refrigeration. In three and a half years, we only had one bad egg; probably missed a crack.


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## dpebbles (Oct 28, 2011)

AlanMexicali said:


> I forgot to mention. The dark yellow yokes that happen in the US when the eggs are not fresh are always dark yellow in most of Central Mexico because they feed them the seeds of the marigold plant, which is bright yellow. Don't let that throw you off.


I have been wondering about that! I guess that's related to the yellow chicken question I asked before.


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