All products have their own shelf life, which guarantees us the consumption of healthy and wholesome food. The shelf life of eggs directly depends on the date of their production and storage conditions.
Eggs produced in large poultry farms always have a date indicating the time when they were laid. It is from this date that you need to count the shelf life of this product. The best option for buying eggs is to purchase them in company boxes, which always indicate the date of production. In this case, you are guaranteed to buy only fresh product. If you buy eggs on the market, use them within a week, because it is not known when they were laid and when their shelf life will end. If they are purchased in a distribution network and the date of the store is indicated on the packaging, this does not indicate the time of egg production, but the time of their packing. In the event that the packaging does not indicate the production date, they must be used faster.
The shelf life of foods should always be observed, since eating expired foods can cause great harm to the body. If you are not sure about the freshness of the eggs, during the preparation of any dish, break them into a separate bowl or cup. So you can find a spoiled egg that has an unpleasant odor and an unnatural appearance. Thanks to this procedure, you will not spoil the dish and protect yourself from poisoning.
A good method for determining the freshness of eggs is to dip them in a glass of water (cold). Fresh sink to the bottom and take a horizontal position. If they fall into the water in an inclined position - they are more than a week. Eggs that remain upright or afloat are expired. This method of determining the degree of freshness is based on the property of eggs to increase the air chamber inside the shell over time, therefore - the better they swim, the longer they are stored.
The shelf life of eggs depends on the place. So, if they are in room conditions or a pantry, the period is reduced to 1 week. They are stored in the refrigerator for up to 6 weeks (for this special cells are provided in the refrigerator). The optimal shelf life of eggs (raw) is 28-30 days. When storing this product, abrupt temperature changes should be avoided. Only whole eggs are suitable for storage. If they have a cracked shell, there is a risk of penetration of microbes located on the surface inside it. For the same reason, it is impossible to lay those eggs that have a shell that is heavily contaminated with the waste products of the chicken, because microbes can penetrate through the pores in it.
The shelf life of eggshells also depends on location and temperature. Yolks are stored in the refrigerator for 3-4 days, proteins - up to 5 days. It is necessary to tightly close the container with such products with cling film or a lid, as they can simply dry out.
The shelf life of hard-boiled eggs is up to 7 days (in the refrigerator). When storing such a product, it should be protected from penetration of various odors through the pores in the shell. To do this, wrap the eggs with cling film. It is better to place them in the side door. Only eggshells should be stored. At room temperature, such a product is stored for no more than 12 hours.
Eggs are distinguished:
- diet - stored up to 7 days (after production);
- Fresh canteens - up to 30 days;
- chilled - were in the refrigerator for more than 30 days.
Shelf life also affects the use of this product in cooking. So, for cooking using raw eggs (without heat treatment), only a dietary product is used. Since when using eggs that have been stored for a long time, there is a risk of salmonellosis.