Europeans do not refrigerate their eggs.

I know..I know.  The first time when I couldn't find them in the refrigerated case anywhere in the grocery store and stumbled across an entire endcap of nothing but eggs, displayed as if they were cans of pork and beans, I freaked out!  What are they thinking?  Surely they know how dangerous and gross unrefrigerated eggs can be, right?  Then when I saw vendors at the weekly outdoor market selling pretty brown eggs off the top of their tables, in 70 degree weather with people buying them dozens at a time, I knew for my sanity, let alone the fact I like eating eggs, there would have to be some serious Googling done.

Here's what I found out.

The difference in why the US refrigerates eggs and Europeans do not (with the exception being Japan, Australia, and Scandinavian countries) is in how the hens are raised and eggs processed.

The USDA in the US requires eggs be graded, washed and sprayed with a chemical sanitizer before sold to the public to reduce risk of salmonella infection.  The FDA controls the salmonella threat through testing, sanitation and refrigeration codes.

The Europeans, however, prefer to vaccinate their Grade A hens to produce clean eggs at the time of collection rather than trying to clean them afterwards.  They have been vaccinating hens since 1997 with a rapid decline in salmonella incidents resulting in less of a concern.  As a matter of fact, selling washed and disinfected eggs is illegal in Europe and USDA approved eggs cannot be sold in the UK.

Large producers in the US can produce more eggs on less land, but the eggs are more susceptible to contamination.  While smaller, Europeans farms can trace their eggs by the type of farming, land or biologico, country of production, consumed by dates, the municipality of where the farm is located, signature of the province of the breeding and the unique code where the hen laid the egg.  These codes are stamped on each egg with the legend for the codes found on the inside of the cardboard wrapping.

Refrigerating eggs double their life span over that of one-three weeks of a room temperature egg.  It is believed that once an egg has been washed the natural protected barrier of the shell has been compromised and must be put in the frig at 40 degrees Fahrenheit.  So, if you want to keep your European  eggs out of the frig, do NOT wash them!  A cold egg left out at room temp only has a safe life expectancy of two hours before bacteria growth may begin.  And, once an egg, US or European has been refrigerated it must stay refrigerated.  There is no going back no matter where you have been laid!

Now for a few fun egg facts.

Here in Italy you can buy eggs at the grocery store in packages of six or ten...yes ten, not 12, not a dozen, but ten.  It took me awhile to realize why I was going through eggs alittle faster than normal.  It never dawned on me that eggs weren't sold by the half dozen or the full dozen.  Who knew?

The odds are about one out of a 1000 cracked eggs that you will be given the good fortune of a "double-yolker".  I'm surprised at the number of people who have never had the experience.  Technically, this is a result of rapid ovulation on the hen's part, but I much rather believe the idea of seeing the two-for-one surprise in your bowl will undoubtingly result in good fortune.

Here in Italy, January 6 is Befana Day.  The Feast of the Epiphany. A day of celebration and new beginnings.  It's a big deal.  It's a national holiday and marks the end of the Christmas season.  So, can I just tell you, when I was making scrambled eggs the morning of Befana Day and saw the two yolks fall into the pan...no lie!...I couldn't help but squeal out loud in excitment!  And so far, I have had a very fortunate year.

So, that's it for now about eggs.  They are good for you and I personally think the fresh, beautifully tanned, unrefrigerated ones taste best.  It's a big reason why here in Italy, it's what makes the bread and pasta so delicious.

And remember, Easter is the only time when you should put all your eggs into one basket!

DISCLAIMER...

The facts and numbers in this posting have been supplied by the USDA website and to the best of my knowledge are true and accurate at the time of the writing of this article.