There really isn't a debate. There is a difference, due to whether or not the eggs have been washed. If washed (like in the USA), they need to be refrigerated. If not washed (like in Europe, or on farms who raise their own), they can be left out.
If unwashed eggs have been refrigerated, they should be kept in refrigerated until use, as the bloom can be degraded just by the condensation that occurs when refrigerated eggs return to room temperature.
A particularly pernicious practice here in Australia, where regulations dictate that eggs are not washed, but grocery stores and supermarkets are frequently found to be keeping their eggs refrigerated during 'back room' storage, but returning them to non-refrigerated aisle shelves prior to selling them.
Talking to staff at various markets, it seems no one understands why this is bad (for the consumer). I expect we'll see a gradual increase in food poisoning incidents that will be hard to track down root cause.
Maybe if people aren't actually getting sick at the predicted rate, there's a problem with the theory.
I suspect the rate at which eggs are being treated like this is in fact changing.
Other complicating factors include - various consumption rates and that earlier-consumed eggs are less likely to cause a problem, the difficulty of tracking back root cause on fungible items like eggs, where people typically discard the original container (with manufacturer, batch number, BB/UB dates, etc) and relocate into the egg compartment, the fact that in Australia most people put eggs in the fridge in any case, which will partially mediate the problem of condensation causing bloom damage for the day or two prior to them buying the eggs, and so on.
> Maybe if people aren't actually getting sick at the predicted rate, there's a problem with the theory.
More a hypothesis than a theory.
Identifying incident rates in an urban population for mild food poisoning is tricky, as there's no convenient way to acquire that data, further the lack of reporting, self-assessment / diagnosis shortcomings, centralised knowledge repository, confounding correlations, let alone then trying to identify what item actually caused the problem in any given person.
It's only about twenty years ago that people in Sydney AU had to boil their water for several months as there were two parasites - cryptosporidium and giardia - that were discovered to be rampant within the supply here. Prior to actual detection, over a good length of time, plenty of people were suffering stomach problems, often geographically grouped (I believe I heard at the time) just a lack of regulatory testing and difficulty in obtaining, let alone correlating data, hid the problem for a long time.
My hypothesis is based on the fact that those same two problems manifest in this case.
Which don't particularly need putting in the fridge either.
Doesn't matter if they float either, that just means there's more air under the shell, which does mean they're older, but it doesn't mean they've gone bad.
If it smells like an egg, it's probably not a rotten egg.
For context: I'm in the UK, and I store eggs in the fridge.
edit: clarification: What I do is not necessarily correct, just providing context and data.
Without the cuticle, eggs must be refrigerated to combat bacterial infection from inside. In Europe, it's illegal to wash eggs and instead, farms vaccinate chickens against salmonella. With the cuticle intact, refrigeration could cause mildew growth and contamination
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.businessinsider.com/why-eur...
I will do a little more reading - thanks for the link!
No idea if that part is true, I couldn't find a source either way and I live in the US so it doesn't impact me.
If you keep them in the fridge until cooking, that's an incredibly small window for anything to grow though.
Meat as well but you have to be accustomed to how raw meat is supposed to smell which may be more pungent than you think.
Trust your nose. The date isn't a guarantee. I have had food within the expiry date that seemed off, I ate anyway, and it made me sick.
Use by we respect - but even then only ish. Mainly as there is a lot of slack built in that date to allow for people with a too warm fridge, or it sitting in their nice warm car for 2 hrs first.
Generally we just go the traditional route to gauge: Smell, texture, separating, colour change, etc. Milk that's turned is super easy to detect. Was even easier before homogenisation.
I dunno if one eggs storage method lasts longer than the other, but they both last an awful long time, apparently.
I have heard the water content/texture does change after a long time, making them unsuitable for baking applications where the composition matters. I'm not a baker, I dunno. They taste fine and are indistinguishable scrambled or fried.
Let enough months pass and they seem to thicken up some - still edible, but definitely past their best. None of the box we misplaced at the back of the store cupboard were off.
In the US the farming practices result in eggs which are dirty. So they need to be washed. This washing damaged the protective layer, which means bad stuff can now get into the egg.
In Europe the farming practices are stricter which results in eggs which are clean enough not to need washing. The protective layer remains intact and the eggs can be stored at room temperature.
You remain free to store your eggs in the fridge. I know some people who do this to ensure consistent boiling times - the fridge temperature is less variable than room temperature.
Your comments around farming practices are great! Thanks for sharing!