To clean eggs or not ?

[janzbro]

Hi, I know washing eggs is not recommended as it gets rid of the bloom but is damp wiping with a sponge ok, I mean what is regarded as "washing"?

When I visited a chicken farm (where I rescued the girls from) he had a load of eggs in an auto egg washer (bit like a glav bucket that moved the eggs back and forth) and the ones you get from the shops are all cleaned, so some form of washing / cleaning must does take place in the laying to shelf process.

[mothhawk]

Washing eggs is not recommended because eggshells are porous, so a little bit of whatever you wash them in will soak through the shell into the egg. And that includes some bacteria once the shell is damp. (Bacteria can't get through dry eggshells). For your own use a quick wipe with a damp cloth is OK, better than leaving them muddy if the chooks have been paddling in mud.

Eggs produced in the EU for retail sale in the shell - grade A - MUST NOT be washed, but must be produced clean from the farm/unit.

On the other hand, in the USA eggs for retail sale MUST be washed and rinsed with a sanitiser spray.

So in the USA, you can keep hens in any filthy conditions and still sell the eggs as premium grade. Here in the UK you must keep your hens clean to keep your eggs clean, or no-one will buy them.

edit - don't know what a snitiser spray is, but as I just invented the word, I rather like it...

[rustylady]

Why do you need to clean them?

[Guest]

You are not meant to wash them for reasons already mentioned. However telling my ducks when and where to lay is just pointless. I wash over the worst with my hands under running water with no issues. Also whilst you shouldn't wash eggs you should also not consume ones that have dirty shells

[mothhawk]

Forgot to add, janzbro, that Egg producers always will get some mucky eggs, so the eggs you saw being washed would be sold either to be broken out and pasteurised, then sold as liquid egg or dried egg powder to commercial enterprises (cake manufacturers et al), or else would go to be used for other non-food purposes, such as in shampoo.

[Stan79]

I let any mud dry the. Brush it off if in our egg rack for our use. Any that I sell I give a very small wipe with a lightly moistened bit of kitchen roll.