4 ms·
Eggs sold in the US are illegal to sell in the EU. Eggs sold in the EU are illegal to sell in the US. The US mandates washing eggs; the EU forbids it. The ratio
by askvictor 4y ago
Eggs sold in the US are illegal to sell in the EU. Eggs sold in the EU are illegal to sell in the US. The US mandates washing eggs; the EU forbids it. The rationale being to force egg farmers to raise their hens in more sanitary conditions where the eggs won't get covered in crap in the first place (since consumers are less likely to buy eggs covered in crap).
- foobar1962 4y agoI believe the rationale for NOT washing eggs is that the process removes a natural coating that prevents bacteria from passing through the shell into the egg contents (the white and yolk), but this leaves the outside of the egg potentially (probably) covered with harmful bacteria.
- throwaway1777 4y agoThis is correct. And also why eggs are refrigerated in the us but not in europe
- YeGoblynQueenne 4y agoDepends. I put mine in the fridge soon as I get them. They last longer that way. But you're right that the super market displays them on ordinary (not refrigerated) shelves.
- ars 4y agoSort of. In the US they refrigerate the eggs not because of some coating but in case there is salmonella it's less likely to spread. You don't actually need to refrigerate eggs in the US if you never eat them raw. I have not refrigerated mine in decades - I buy them, then just leave them on the counter.
- zajio1am 4y agoHere in europe eggs are sold refrigerated. Some people keep them refrigerated, some people do not.
- jjgreen 4y agoGenerally not refrigerated at point of sale in the UK (if we still count as in Europe, sniff).
- refurb 4y agoHow do you teach a chicken not to shit on its eggs?
- ars 4y agoYou vaccinate the chicken so that it doesn't get salmonella. Also you can raise them in special trays that remove both the eggs and the waste immediately, reducing how much gets on the egg.
- berjin 4y agoLuckily commercial chickens come with an instruction manual for everything hatching, housing, vaccinations, diet etc. https://www.hyline.com/filesimages/Hy-Line-Products/Hy-Line-Product-PDFs/Brown/BRN%20PS%20ENG.pdf https://www.hyline.com/filesimages/Hy-Line-Products/Hy-Line-...
- ars 4y agoThat natural coating is just oil. The US washes the egg, then reapplies the oil. The EU forbids washing to encourage producers not to have salmonella in the first place, the US prevents the salmonella by washing. In practice the EU vaccinates their chickens against salmonella. Around half of US producers do as well.
- senectus1 4y agoha! that is a fascinating insight into Gov's trying to control market forces.
- tptacek 4y agoThere is no such thing as a sanitary chicken.
- jandrewrogers 4y agoWashing eggs is correlated with a material reduction in salmonella cases in countries that adopt it, there is science behind the practice. It is why the US adopted this practice several decades ago, and it produced the desired effect. US food regulations require stronger mitigations against bacterial contamination than most countries pretty consistently. If you look at the long list of foods prohibited for import into the US from Europe, it is almost entirely due to insufficient mitigation of bacterial contamination. This largely revolves around traditional food processing techniques that don’t pass modern food safety standards but which get an exception in Europe for being “traditional”.