Selling eggs?

[GardenWeasel]

How old is the oldest egg you would consider selling to a customer? Do you date your cartons? I ask because I did date my cartons and if eggs were dated two weeks ago a customer said "well that's not fresh". So I don't date them any more and now have return customers. So what is your cut off time. Just curious cause I know store eggs are older. One of my worst jobs was working in a egg packing house.

 

[dacdeihl]

I whole sale my eggs and they have to be dated the day they are packaged. Now does that mean the day I wash and package them or the day they are collected? I haven't found the answer to that. I date them the day they were collected.

For selling out of my home I do date them but never had any trouble with costomers saying they arn't fresh. I think that the general public doesn't know that even two weeks old is still fresh. I have given eggs to people that are a couple weeks old and explain to them that they are good for several months in the fridge.

Next summer I'm planning to sell eggs at the local farmers market and plan to date them the day the were collected.

Grade AA in the store means that the eggs are guarenteed no more than one week old. So one week expiration date from laying.
Grade A has an expiration date of one month from laying. Candeled and weighed.
Grade B is just weighed. No candeling.

If you have an concerns about selling week old or two week old eggs, mark them down in price. Peope always go for a cheaper rate.

 

[Plain Old Dee]

The grades on the eggs in the store are a little misleading, too. Those were the grades when the eggs were packaged - but how long did they sit in a warehouse before being shipped to the store? and how long have they been on the shelf?

A local TV station conducted an experiment at several local supermarkets. They discovered that some of the eggs were up to three months old! (and they were not necessarily refridgerated that whole time, either!

 

[dacdeihl]

Wow, what a great story for the news.

 

[Kim_NC]

We date ours with a "Best By" date that is 30 days from the date of lay/collection. For example, today's eggs are dated Best By 01/18/10. We sell at farmers markets and sellout every week. If a customer asks, we tell them the truth. 1) we never have an egg a week old because we sellout weekly and 2) even if not consumed by the Best By Date on the cartons, they will still be fresher than grocery store eggs.

I also explain the Julien dates that are used on commercially packed (grocery store) eggs.

 

[Plain Old Dee]

Quote:
Yeah. Great for the news. Not so great for my stomach!

Just another reason for having our own chickens. We have about 18 or so, most are just barely old enough to start laying. We get between 0 - 4 eggs a day right now, but it's enough for us and they will pick up come spring. Then we'll have enough eggs for the whole family!