Egg safety question in very hot weather

[Cloverleaf Farm]

That was a really interesting article! I've saved it to my favorites, and may just have to add a link to it on my website! Thanks!!

 

[prairiepearls]

So the fact that it was 100 degrees doesn't matter? 'Cause I'm thinking "unrefrigerated" usually means room temperature, not Wichita-Kansas-blinkin'-hot-July temps. ;-)

 

[tuesdays chicks]

I dont think they mean 100 degree heat when they say unrefrigerated though I would always check an egg thats been in the heat for more then a day.

 

[blake101]

Quote:
Thank you, I knew I had read it some where. Sounds very much like the artical that I read. I have also read that some eggs can last up to 1 year if they are coated with lard and kept in a cool place, which keeps out the oxygen. Most of the 3rd world countries will use a method like this. Others will surmerge them in water.. This was very common when we didn't have refridgeration...

 

[booker81]

Quote:
Though unrefrigerated is usually about 70 degrees, when it comes to going "bad" most folks mean bacterial contamination. Now, it's been YEARS since I've worked in the lab, but we grew our bugs in the fridge (40F), on the lab bench (70F) and at 100F. All the bacteria grow, its just some grow optimally at 100F (most foodbornes, E coli, Salmonella etc), but they still grow quite peachy at 70F and will grow unhappily at 40F (though Listeria does like the fridge more and grows quite well.)

So, in short - the hotter it is, the faster is can go bad, but based on how eggs "work", I'd be more worried about a fertile egg developing than I would it going bad in a few days, even maybe a week. Even if you're looking at it going bad twice as fast as normal, that's still months ( though I'd probably not want to try it even after a week LOL!, def not that if it may be fertile).

Maybe someone could do an experiment with an incubator of non-fertile eggs and see if they pass the float test over time.

 

[booker81]

Quote:
Thank you, I knew I had read it some where. Sounds very much like the artical that I read. I have also read that some eggs can last up to 1 year if they are coated with lard and kept in a cool place, which keeps out the oxygen. Most of the 3rd world countries will use a method like this. Others will surmerge them in water.. This was very common when we didn't have refridgeration...

In the article, they did test the Lard method (IIRC it did well), and waterglass method. They tried packing them in sand or sawdust, that did NOT work well.

 

[lindsleysmith]

Found your dialogue helpful as I investigated the peculiar occurrence of my 2 year old having a two bouts of diarrhea/vomiting in the last couple of weeks, which happened to coincide our first hens maturing into layers, and us enjoying our first eggs. The eggs are of course great, and the two year old loves them. My concern was what if the eggs I was cracking on the pan surface were contaminated from some of the "dirt" that goes with unwashed eggs. I am convinced that I will continue to not wash my eggs, preserving the bloom, but will only brush them off if "dirty", but will wash just before cracking.

What I did find that others may find helpful is that most bacteria die at 60 degrees celsius, and that salmonella dies at 55 celsius. Egg whites set at temperatures between 62-65 degrees celsius, and yolks set between 65-70 celsius, so a well cooked egg would seem safe, and not linked to child's intestinal woes- more likely a "flu bug"

E Coli seems to have a slightly higher kill temp than what then that of yolk set....but I am convinced my clean environment and health micro flock of 5 are not a concern for E Coli.

looking forward to my next egg!

 

[prairiepearls]

I'm the OP, & I thought I'd let you know what came of my egg that had sat out in 100-degree high temps for two days. After consulting here -- and after doing the "float" test -- I decided the egg should be OK. Just to be extra careful, I broke it open outside, and it looked (& smelled!) absolutely fine. So I ate it! That was two days ago, and -- no problems at all! I'm sure this comes as no surprise to egg-producing veterans -- I know it came as no surprise to my 86-year-old dad, who grew up on a dairy farm where they also raised chickens for eggs. He wasn't worried about my egg at all. I guess eggs are a lot less fragile that we city-folks tend to think! What marvelous things they are!

 

[Boo-Boo's Mama]

Quote:
Someone posted on another forum where I'm a member about their child becoming ill after eating homegrown chicken eggs. One answer that caught my eye was that perhaps the child had a problem with sulphur in the eggs. They indicated water fowl have a high sulphur content so if you have a problem with sulphur to be careful when eating duck eggs. I am allergic to suphur drugs...get a rash, so I was interested in the info even though I do not have a problem when eating eggs.

We had our first homegrown eggs a couple of days ago. My husband has diarrhea when he eats store bought eggs...he did not have it when we ate our own eggs. Not sure what the difference is/was but was hoping for a change for the better for him.

 

[prairiepearls]

Actually, "sulfa" drugs are a type of antibiotic, and have nothing to do with "sulphur," which is an element, like carbon or iodine or oxygen or potassium, etc., etc.