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Snark aside, that doesn't dispute the thesis that regulations tend to favor incumbents. Some regulations are good. Some regulations are bad. Some regulations a
by bmelton 8y ago
Snark aside, that doesn't dispute the thesis that regulations tend to favor incumbents.
Some regulations are good. Some regulations are bad. Some regulations are smart. Some regulations are dumb. Reasonable people can disagree on the quality or intelligence of a given regulation, or its impact on a given industry, but that doesn't change that most regulations do tend to make products more expensive to manufacture and by proxy, more expensive to buy.
In Europe, if you want to sell eggs, you're required not to wash them or get them wet, because doing so erodes the natural coating that protects them from diseases. This is a regulation implemented to prevent salmonella.
In America, if you want to sell eggs, you're required to wash them in water at least 90 degrees, to make sure that they're clean, then rinse them with a chemically infused spray, then because you've got them wet, they need to be thoroughly dried to prevent bacterial growth. Further, because you've now washed and dried them, removing the natural protective coating, they need to be refrigerated in transit, at the store, and at home.
Both regulations are imposed to defend against Salmonella, and both are apparently quite effective, but the American regulations in play require the purchase of (conservatively) thousands of dollars in washing, sanitizing and drying equipment, and at least a partnership with a refrigerated trucking company. If you're selling the eggs in California, there's the additional requirement that the eggs were laid by free-range hens, which of course increases the amount of land required to raise the chickens upon, which of course makes it harder to prevent and protect the hens against predators.
Like I said, reasonable people can disagree on any given regulation, but it's hard to make the claim that egg regulations in America are more effective than those in Europe, or that the American regulatory environment doesn't make it the egg business a more capital intensive affair.
- eyeinthepyramid 8y agoThere are benefits to washing the eggs, isn't there? I have read that in Europe as a consumer it's a lot more important to wash the eggs before using them.
- bmelton 8y agoYou should definitely wash the eggs before you cook with them. As you mention, that is de rigueur for Europeans, as it is in America for things like lettuce and potatoes.
- globuous 8y agoWhat ? Is this legitimate or are you being funny ? I'm European and have never washed an egg before cooking it in my life. what is this ? I crack it open and cook it and am still here. I do wash my tomatoes when I make a salad with raw tomatoes though. And that's mostly to get stuff off since I'd argue my vinegrette would kill all the bacteria. And washing your potato ? I'm so confused. Don't we all cook potatoes in boiling hot water ?
- bmelton 8y agoThe incidence rate for salmonella is pretty low either way, but you should definitely wash eggs before cracking them open, for the same reasons you wash your tomatoes. As for potatoes, no, we don't all cook them by boiling them in water -- many of us bake them, fry them, or use them for making hash browns. This might just be cultural, but I would actually be more inclined to wash them before boiling them, since the reason you wash potatoes is because they have dirt on them, and just as I wouldn't want to toss dirt into my boiling water, I would prefer to clean (or peel) my potatoes before boiling them.
- RugnirViking 8y agoNope. In fact when I was in cookery school here in the EU, I was told that it is perfectly safe to eat raw egg here, but that in the US this is never advisable.
- bmelton 8y agoYou can eat raw egg (yolks and whites) in the EU because chickens are inoculated against salmonella. This has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not salmonella is allowed to accumulate and/or incubate on the outside of the shell.
- jimmaswell 8y agoShould I also be washing fresh eggs from friends' chickens/ducks then?
- bmelton 8y agoYes. I have chickens (hence the anecdote above), and if you're getting eggs from friends, you should definitely wash them. I've personally just made it a habit to to wash all eggs in warm water, regardless of whether they're store-bought or fresh.
- zmb_ 8y agoI have lived all my life in Europe, in three different countries and with friends and colleagues from many more. and I have never seen or even heard about anyone washing eggs. So if it happens, it is certainly not a Europe-wide norm.
- eyeinthepyramid 8y agoActually I found this post about it: https://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/66957/is-salmonella-from-eggs-a-us-only-problem https://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/66957/is-salmone... Apparently there is some evidence that egg-related salmonella is 7x more prevalent in Europe vs the US.
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- AnthonyMouse 8y ago> Snark aside, that doesn't dispute the thesis that regulations tend to favor incumbents. Not only that, even auto safety regulations do favor incumbents. There were far more new independent car companies created before the 1970s when the safety regulations were passed, and they were often created by small groups of people rather than huge established companies. It's possible that the safety improvement is worth that cost, but that doesn't mean the cost isn't still there. When we start talking about other industries where the result isn't literally a matter of life and death, it becomes much more likely that the cost outweighs the benefit. You're essentially talking about destroying competition -- the same competition that keeps companies from doing things you don't like. If you want to pass regulations that destroy competition, those regulations had better prevent companies from doing more evil on net than competitive pressure does. Which is a pretty high bar.
- forapurpose 8y ago> it's hard to make the claim that egg regulations in America are more effective than those in Europe It is? What is the data?