How do I Safely and Properly clean my Eggs?

[Beekissed]

I would have to agree....all this fear of salmonella, e.coli and such..well, its just germophobia. Especially from a home flock of chickens. Whatever germs my chickens have, I can guarantee that I have already been exposed to it ten thousand times over.

I would place the cleanliness of my freshly laid eggs up against any commercially treated egg on any day with great confidence.

Anyhoo, I've got a little tip for you all about germs...expose yourself early and often to environmental pathogens. Build up a good set of antibodies while you are in the prime of life and it will serve you well when you are weak and old.

 

[Kittymomma]

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[booker81]

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Bingo. Low level exposure means resistance. Doesn't mean having poop soup for lunch....though I could had mixed up a batch of regular E. coli in a test tube at work, drink it, and have no other ill effect than my own personal reaction to soy.

On the other hand, we humans have grossly contaminated our environment....and sadly, we fear the little things, while the big things that are slowly killing us go completely unnoticed and unreported (just ask me about TCE and groundwater if you want to really get me going and something really to fear - AZ residents might understand this on).

If it makes you feel better to wash your eggs, do so. Know however it's more for aesthetics than making them bacteria free.

 

[woodmort]

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I worry less about some of these pathogens since I don't bring in adult birds from other flocks--all my chicken have either been hatched here or brought in as day-olds from a hatchery. While that isn't a 100% guarantee, it helps keep stuff like that at bay.

 

[CluckCluck18]

I'm new to chicken keeping myself and it's hard in the begining....you want to do everything right and make no mistakes. My pullets are 10-12weeks old and I've already had a death from cocci and had to trade in a rooster. But I'm learning to relax a little and have to tell you that without the people on this site I would have already been sunk, big time! You can learn SO much here! One of the best things about chicken keeping, I think is the idea of getting back to a simpler way of life....don't wash your eggs in bleach......that just makes them like the garbage they sell in the grocery store. Good luck and hang in there...I think in the end it all work s out....

 

[sesa]

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You don't rinse off the top of the can, yuck

 

[chickbird]

washing your eggs and rinsing does not decrease the quality of your eggs and do not make them like the 45 day plus old eggs at the supper market...what you feed your chickens and how you care for them is what makes backyard chicken eggs better. merely by washing and rinsing with a mild bleach solution does not change what is on the inside of the egg.

 

[Beekissed]

I don't know....I am reluctant to place mine in the fridge and I will let them linger on the counter for awhile because I swear I can taste fridge smells in the eggs when I use them later. Its almost as if they absorb fridge food odors....I can smell them when I take them out to use them. Probably psychological but there it is.

So...if fridge odors can affect the taste of my eggs, I'm incline to think that rinsing them in bleach might also. I'll take my eggs ala natural, thanks!

 

[MakNugget]

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It's not psychological, especially if you have washed the eggs before putting them in the fridge. The egg surface is very porous and gladly dehydrate your egg and take in odors at the same time. Not everyone is sensitive enough to notice but it does happen.

A properly diluted sani rinse of bleach and water followed with a rinse of clean water shouldn't affect the taste either as long as the eggs aren't steeped in the solution like tea. The idea isn't to disinfect the outside completely, but to move it through the sani solution quickly to reduce some percentage of "bad" bacteria without compromising the product.

To each his own really. I won't be washing my eggs unless there's a risk in the application (Used to be a chef) of the egg. I plan to keep my eggs on the counter if they even last that long. All this attention to egg washing means very little in the whole cross contamination/food safety arena. You can wash your eggs all you want, but a you really going to eat that egg salad at the potluck that's been out for a few hours that a friend made, sitting in direct sunlight?

The short answer is NO... Long answer NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

If you answered yes, that's because you had some before it was put out for the general public. If you missed that chance and still say yes, I raise my drink glass to your iron gut.

 

[laynepage]

Thanks everyone for the amazing information and the laughs. Great post by all.