Can Eggs Be Kept At Room Temperature?
You are advised not to keep eggs at room temperature for more than two hours. This is because at room temperature, eggs can start to sweat which means the birth of bacteria and also their rapid growth. This would render the eggs useless as they won’t be fit for consumption any more.
According to the FDA, refrigerated eggs that have been kept refrigerated for a period of time of more than two hours, and eggs that have been kept 90degF or higher for more than an hour, are to be kept refrigerated. Newly laid eggs may remain room temperature for at least one month before you have to begin thinking about moving them into a refrigerator. You can leave a fresh-laid chicken egg at room temperature for up to a month before you need to begin thinking about moving them to the refrigerator.
To learn about How To Preserve Cucumber, check out my article where I cover everything you need to know.
If the refrigerated egg is left at room temperature for an extended time, it will begin to sweat. A cold egg at room temperature may sweat, which may encourage bacteria growth which may get into the egg through the porous shell. Cooler temperatures may keep an egg from degrading so rapidly, and bacteria from growing.
| Eggs | Shelf life |
| Boiled egg | 2 hours |
| Uncooked egg | 7-10 days |
Chilling Eggers firmly believes that keeping eggs cooler would keep salmonella from multiplying. Chill eggers are also supported by Dr. Rosamund Baird and Dr. Janet Corry, two experts at the Bristol University veterinary school, who claim storing a contaminated egg at room temperature only allows Salmonella to replicate. UK Warm Eggers Say Refrigerated eggs are Useless for Safety, Ruins Their Flavor, Causes Baking Disasters, says Daily Mail.
In the US, food safety officials stress that once eggs are refrigerated, it is crucial they stay that way. Eggs purchased from the U.S. supermarket should be refrigerated due to a process that occurs during the process of being disinfected. On U.S. commercial egg farms, eggs are required to be washed thoroughly and refrigerated immediately prior to leaving the farm and while being transported to a grocery store.
By the way, if you’re interested in How To Preserve Carrots, check out my article on that.
Because of contamination, U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires egg farmers to wash, dry, disinfect, and refrigerate eggs thoroughly before shipping. In the United Kingdom, grade-A chicken eggs are allowed to go unwashed, as this process is thought to help transmit harmful bacteria such as Salmonella from outside to inside of the egg, according to the Food Safety Authority of Ireland. SUMMARY In the U.S. and some other countries, eggs are washed, disinfected, and refrigerated in an effort to minimize bacteria.
Because the eggs that are washed are susceptible to bacteria soaking through their shells, the other rule in the U.S. is that eggs, once they are washed, should be refrigerated. It is even worse if fresh eggs are washed with cold water, creating a vacuum which encourages the bacteria to enter. Taking eggs out of the refrigerator for too long causes them to sweat out, increasing the chances that bacteria will find their way inside. This means that as long as it is an American Egg, you do not have any other option than keeping your eggs in the refrigerator; chilled eggs left outside will begin to sweat and develop bacteria.
There is an exception to this rule: If you have to wash the eggs in water, it is okay to keep your eggs straight away in the fridge — that is because you removed the blossoms from them (more on this below). If you decide to put your eggs in the fridge (either because you cleaned the eggs and removed the bloom, or because you want to keep them cold), they will be fine for up to six months in the fridge- we would not keep them longer than that. If you are okay with their shorter lifespan, then you can safely keep them on the counter for 2-3 weeks.
Leave eggs on the counter or in a bowl of lukewarm water for half an hour before using, instead of keeping them on your counter. The barnacles are removed from the eggs purchased at stores from the commercial egg farms, so you really do have to store them in a refrigerator. Same goes for eggs that were previously refrigerated: Once they are in a refrigerator, then they must be kept cold.
If you have a coop of your own, eggs can be stored at room (ambient) temperature, since they are uncleaned and will still have the blossoms intact. If you have your own chickens or if you are getting eggs from a local farm, chances are that the bloom is left intact, which keeps the eggs safe out of the fridge. Since the U.S. Department of Agriculture requires that commercially produced eggs are washed and disinfected prior to sale, eggs that you purchase in the store are no longer sold with the bulk of the cuticle intact.
Stores may expose their eggs to temperature fluctuations each time they open their refrigerator, which may encourage the growth of bacteria and damage the eggs protective membranes (4). Temperature fluctuations are a risk to eggs, so you are better off throwing them out if you left them overnight in your vehicle.
Fresh eggs have a protective coating which helps them to keep for up to five weeks in a refrigerator; after boiling, the protection is removed and eggs only keep one week in the fridge. If you plan on using the eggs in a week or two, and you are not washing them, they are just fine sitting out on your kitchen counter at room temperature. Your eggs should last about two weeks on the counter, but can last as long as four when refrigerated. If you crack your egg while driving home, break into a sealed container and keep in the refrigerator up to 2 days.
You can leave eggs on the counter about two hours at room temperature, or an hour if it is 90 degrees or warmer, before you begin to worry, according to the Egg Safety Center. USDA experts advise that never leave eggs exposed to air temperature for more than 2-3 hours.
Once eggs are washed, USDA dictates clean eggs are immediately moved into cool rooms maintained at or below 7.2 degrees Celsius (45 degrees Fahrenheit). The eggs are nearly immediately placed into refrigerators to keep any new bacteria from entering (salmonella thrives at temperatures of 40-140 degrees F). To further prevent contamination, US egg producers are also required to wash eggs (right after being laid, and prior to being sold at markets) with hot water, and dry and mist chlorine over them. Eggs may become contaminated with Salmonella bacteria before they leave the farm, either because hens are contaminated (the bacteria does not sicken them) or because an egg comes in contact with soil and fecal matter after being laid.
How do you store fresh eggs on the counter?
Farm fresh eggs with their bloom intact can be kept, depending on where you live, at room temperature on your countertop for up to 3 weeks, so long as it’s not too hot. Your farm fresh eggs should be refrigerated after three weeks and can be stored there for around three months.
Are brown eggs better than white eggs?
People who choose brown eggs frequently do so because they think they are healthier and more organic than white eggs. The truth is that, regardless of size, quality, or color, all eggs are nutritionally extremely identical. White and brown eggs are both nutritious foods.
Do eggs have to be refrigerated?
Fresh, industrially produced eggs must be kept chilled in the US to reduce the danger of food contamination. However, it’s acceptable to store eggs at room temperature for a few weeks in many nations throughout Europe and the rest of the world. Refrigerated eggs are suggested not to be kept for longer than two hours.