Washing eggs

[Hopefulloflove]

i am now selling eggs. My question is, should I wash them or not? I haven't been, but I don't want to send eggs out with poops on them..so how do ya'll handle this?

Thanks!

 

[Kickin' Chickin']

I bought some egg cleanser at a local Tractor Supply so that I could wash the eggs that I intend to sell.

 

[SIMZ]

There are differing opinions on this. My latest decision has been to not wash because washing seems to remove the protective coating that helps them last longer. If one of the eggs has a small spot of dirt or mark I brush it off with a bit of sandpaper. If it's dirty then I wash it and keep it for us to eat.

The thing to remember seems to be that washing in water colder than the egg could actually cause the bacteria to be pulled in to the egg. Also, your location may require that you wash your eggs for sale, so check that, too.

 

[Hopefulloflove]

Thank you!

 

[Tikkijane]

There are tons of threads on this, and the debate rages on. According to Dr. Ken W. Koelkebeck of the University of Illinois’ Animal Science Center,“When the cuticle or bloom is deposited by the hen on the shell this acts as a barrier to keep bacteria from entering the egg. When eggs are washed, however, this removes most if not all of the cuticle from the shell surface. Thus, bacteria have an easier time entering the egg after washing.”

I will only use water if there is poop on it. I use a damp paper towl and clean off just that area. I wrote in more detail about how even though the egg comes out the same place as the poop, it doesn't come down the poop chute and there is no cross contamination when the egg is layed. (http://tikktok.wordpress.com/2012/02/21/chicken-soup/)

I, personally, don't want to take a chance of introducing bacteria to an otherwise clean egg, because they are porous.....fwiw; ymmv.