[Sarah J]

hey all!!
jsut wondering about washing eggs...  since the weather is so wet and cold my girlies have been sleeping in their nest boxes from time to time which seems to result in dirty eggies. is it ok to give them a wash before i pass them on the friends etc??
thanks!

[Roughlee Handled]

Top Tips
1. You should not wash them (though I do sponge them off if poo present)
2. Do not refrigerate them before selling/giving away. (As condensation can occur on the inside of the egg and bacteria can grow)
3.You should mark each egg with the date of laying
4.You should advise the customer to refrigerate after purchase and that the egg must be consumed no later than 28 days after the date on the individual egg.

I have found this info on a defra website and I will endeavour to place the link on here as soon as I have found it.

[Bodger]

Use cold water to wash them if you must. Hot water opens the pores ( if thats the right word) and allows the germs in.

[Sarah J]

thank you, thank you. very helpful!!

[karlooben]

i dont wash mine but it does make me laugh when i sell them to ppl at work , i did so last week an this guy's daughter kept asking him what all the brown stuff was on the shell    he politly replied' the stuff that comes out of thier bums ' as for me i call it what it is and u know what that is    

[Aunt Sally]

Have a read of this article:

http://www.pekinbantams.com/cleaning_eggs.asp

[too many girls]

we have covered this topic before, listen to Aunty, she's absolutely right, i had my own views on washing eggs (one's i'd been familiar with for years) i was wrong, read the article and do what it say's.

[Bodger]

I've read this piece before, but now feel compelled to reply. Folks, please don't believe everything you read and take it as gospel.

First of all, who amongst us has the time and or opportunity to "collect eggs at least three times a day" ? Now, down to the nitty gritty and an obvious flaw in the theory of washing eggs in hot water and to me, this is plain common sense.
The author argues that by washing eggs in hot water, the contents swell and virtually seal the egg. If this actually happens, which IMO is unlikely, then surely, from there on in, you are dealing with a par boiled product, but here comes the common sense bit. Ask yourself this? Which part of an egg is going to be affected by the hot water first ? Answer the shell ! Are you beginning to get my drift ? Any early expansion of the egg, is going to be seen on the exterior. The pores in the shell expand and in go the germs long before any imaginary defence by the expansion of the yolk and egg white can take place.
Nice article, its a shame its not correct. The Pekin what ?

[p00rstudent]

would rates of expansion not also be down to density and thermal conducvity.

i.e liquids less dense expand more readily than solids, does the shell conduct heat particularly well hence transmiting it to the yolk etc.

way i think of it would be a bit like putting water in a red hot pan, the pan though red hot wont have expanded that much but when you pore in the water some will evaporate almost imediately.

though i will say i know nothing about thermal properties of eggs, but it was just a thought.

[WhatCameFirst]

I too know nothing about the thermal properties of eggs, but I do question the need for disinfectant and / or sanitisers for a little bit of poo, as that article suggests. We will be in danger of losing our immune systems completely!

[AndyRVTR]

EH??

Surely chicken poo adds to the flavour  

[Bodger]

I don't do physics but stick your finger in boiling water and see which bit gets hot first. :roll:

[AndyRVTR]

I don't do physics but stick your finger in boiling water and see which bit gets hot first. :roll:

       

[Aunt Sally]

I've just done a thorough internet search and found no one recommending cold water for washing eggs !!  They all recommend warm :

http://www.plamondon.com/faq_eggwashing.html
Wet cleaning is more complicated. The basic issue is that dirty eggs are covered with bacteria, which have trouble getting through the shell so long as it's dry. As soon as the shell is wet, they pass through the shell more easily. Also, if you cool the egg, the contents shrink a little, causing a partial vacuum inside that tends to suck foreign matter into the egg.
The upshot is that you should always wash eggs in water that's warmer than the egg is, and you should sanitize the eggshells to kill any bacteria on the shell.

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract;jsessionid=AD009EDB2CB582D0FF25B196ECC91DE6.tomcat1?fromPage=online&aid=623960
To determine if cool washing temperatures could cause water to taken up by egg contents, eggs were warmed to 37°C, 30°C, 25°C or 20°C and were submerged in aqueous protein stain at 15°C forup to 7 minutes. We did not observe take up of the stain solution unless its temperature was 15°C cooler than the egg contents and the eggs were immersed forat least 3 minutes.


http://www.food.gov.uk/science/research/researchinfo/foodborneillness/eggsresearch/b15programme/b15projects/b03017/
The most important factor in reducing salmonella levels on the shell surface was maintenance of a temperature of >40°C in the wash and rinse waters.

http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/poultry/factsheets/9.html
Wash eggs with water 10 degrees warmer than the egg. This will make the egg contents swell and push the dirt away from the pores of the egg. If you have extremely dirty eggs, a mild detergent approved for washing eggs can be used.
Never let eggs sit in water. Once the temperature equalizes the egg can absorb contaminants out of the water.

[Bodger]

Perhaps common sense doesn't rain then.
I know that i've read in several books that cold water washing is best, but can I remember where ?