Fresh, Cleaned Eggs—Accidentally Left Out of Fridge: Keep or Toss?

[YC_ChickenMom]

Hello!

So yesterday I removed debris off some (not all) of my fresh eggs like I normally do with cold-tepid water. A few I had to place under running water to help get all the nastys off.

Took them to the basement counter to place in fridge—completely had a pregnancy brain moment, got distracted, and forgot to put them in the fridge.

They’ve been out for less than 24 hours—just put them in the fridge after I remembered what I did. Are they still safe for consumption?

Thanks!

 

[BarnyardChaos]

Hello!

So yesterday I removed debris off some (not all) of my fresh eggs like I normally do with cold-tepid water. A few I had to place under running water to help get all the nastys off.

Took them to the basement counter to place in fridge—completely had a pregnancy brain moment, got distracted, and forgot to put them in the fridge.

They’ve been out for less than 24 hours—just put them in the fridge after I remembered what I did. Are they still safe for consumption?

Thanks!

Yes, absolutely still safe. If any bacteria have penetrated the shell, it's still early and takes a couple of weeks to spoil an egg. Just to be sure, I'd cook and eat those first.

To prevent my having to wash ickies off in my kitchen sink, I put dirtied eggs in a separate container in my "egg" fridge. Then I wash them just before use and I use those, first. Or I feed them to the dogs if I collect too many. But... I wouldn't collect them like that if I used that fridge for storage of any other foods; I would do just as you are doing. I've left some out for a day or two by mistake - and they were fine.

 

[3KillerBs]

Perfectly fine -- just use them reasonably soon.

When I was reliant on store-bought eggs, which are always washed, I would leave them on the counter on purpose to get peelable hard-boiled eggs and also when I was preparing to lose power during storms and knew I wouldn't want to open the fridge for, potentially, several days.