Quote:
Originally Posted by A930Rocket
Isn’t that why we refrigerate our eggs, because they are washed? I think it was Europe*, they don’t wash the eggs and don’t refrigerate them. The stuff on the outside of the shell, keeps it fresh.
* maybe it was another area?
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Nope, that's exactly right but it's not just Europe that doesn't wash eggs. Brazil doesn't wash eggs either. Actually, I think most countries don't require it.
When chickens lay eggs, they are coated with what folks call bloom which I assume is some sort of mucus-like coating. The coating protects the eggs from bacteria. The US govt and a few others (like Japan) require eggs to be washed before they can be sold.
We spent two weeks on a boat on the Amazon in Brazil and during the entire trip they had at least a gross maybe two of eggs sitting on a counter where the temp ranged from 75° - 90°.
The govt requires eggs to be washed which removes the protective coating and means that bacterias can get through the porous shells of eggs which means that they have to be refrigerated to protect them from pathogens.