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Comment by DavidVoid | Hacker News Reader

> For instance the eggs need to be stored in the fridge because they are dipped in chemicals, the rest of the world is fine without doing that.

It's fairly common in parts of Europe to store eggs in the fridge too, not because they have to be stored in the fridge (like American eggs do), but because it makes them stay fresh longer.

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Grew up in a country town and free range eggs from the farm/house gate keep for a surprisingly long time - at least a month.

Regardless of the source I always crack it in a mug to give it a sniff first because you never know when you'll get a bad one the slipped through the cracks

Shelf-life on a literal shelf is like a week or two. Shelf-life in the fridge is months for euro eggs.

Eggs keep for a month in my kitchen, Norway. Not at their best after that time but perfectly safe.

Now try doing the same on the Mediterranean shore.

I've personally kept eggs unrefrigerated in the tropics for more than 30 days. You just have to flip them every couple of days to keep the shell from drying out inside and cracking. These were eggs purchased in Panama before a sailing trip. You can't do this with US eggs though, as others have pointed out, because the shells are cleaned up (from chicken poop) and polished, removing the protective surface in the process.

This is not true : eggs in Europe have an expiration date of 28 days (without fridge) and there’s still a fair safety margin.

My lack of organisation gave me several times the opportunity to try eggs stores eggs longer than that - maybe 50days - and never had a problem. The only outdated egg I can remember (they are easy to notice by smell !) was “fresh”, strait from the shop, probably small cracks in the shell…

This is based on buying the eggs at the production day though. Usually they sit in the store for a good while.

The BB date is printed on every egg and egg carton. Just subtract 28 days to work out how long it’s been in storage/transit.

Yeah, sure. But the stuff once you get it usually lasts like a week or two, which is my point. If you keep it outside of the fridge that is.

Maybe you’re in a more remote area? The eggs I buy usually have at least 3 weeks before their BB date. Sometimes they’re only 2-3 days old if I’m lucky. I usually try to buy the freshest eggs I can find as they poach better.

Here in Norway we're fighting the 28-day rule[1], since our eggs are low on salmonella and the eggs are kept cold from producer to consumer.

Apparently tests have been done here and found our eggs were perfectly fine in a cake after a year in the fridge[2], but the taste of the egg itself changed a bit after 7 months. YMMV...

[1]: https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2023/03/norway-pushes-for-exe...

[2]: https://www.nrk.no/livsstil/eggene-varer-_nesten_-evig-1.759...

In the UK and Europe, the “best before” date printed on eggs is 28 days from when it was laid. This assumes room temperature storage. Refrigeration can extend storage life beyond this date.

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