Chickens first appeared in India. Chicken products are so popular that if you count the number of eggs laid per year and divide them by the population of the planet, each person will get 2 eggs per week. Eggs can be found in almost any kitchen. Chicken products are rich in vitamins and nutrients and are often included in diet menus. Most dishes of traditional cuisine cannot be prepared without testicles. Therefore, you need to know exactly the expiration date of chicken eggs in order to use an exclusively high-quality product. Spoiled eggs can cause acute poisoning.

Expiry date

Chicken eggs are divided into categories:

  • Selected (XL) – weight from 77 grams and above.
  • Higher (L) – weight of one chicken egg from 63 to 72.9 grams.
  • First (M) – eggs weighing from 53 to 62.9 grams.
  • The second (S) – weight from 45 to 52.9 grams.
  • Small – weight from 35 to 44.9 grams.

At the production site, the product is marked, indicating its category. The size and weight of fresh testicles correspond to the category. The maximum permissible deviation is 1 gram.

Before buying chicken eggs, you need to visually examine them. You should not buy testicles contaminated with droppings, with traces of blood or with a damaged shell. According to DSTU, there may be specks or stripes on the surface of the shell. They appear during transportation.

If the purchased testicles are still contaminated, they should be washed only immediately before cooking, since the shelf life of washed eggs is short – only 4 days. How to wash eggs according to the rules:

  1. Treat with a salt solution for 5 minutes. The solution should be warm.
  2. Disinfection is carried out with a special agent. Processing time is 5 minutes.
  3. Rinse under cold water until the disinfectant is completely removed.
  4. The products are dried and placed in a dry marked container.

If the treatment is carried out at home, then it is carried out using baking soda and warm water.

Expiry dates:

  • no more than 7 days for dietary eggs;
  • no longer than 90 days for table eggs at a temperature from -2 to 0 ℃;
  • no more than 25 days for table eggs at a temperature from 0 to +20 ℃.

Each farm egg is marked. The packaging date is indicated on the label. Some unscrupulous sellers may deliberately indicate a later packing date. This happens when the product has been in stock for a long time. At the same time, the seller does not indicate the sorting date. If the buyer notices such a violation, he has the right to demand the original or a copy of the quality certificate and veterinary document.

The shelf life of chicken eggs

Boiled eggs

Under the shell is a thin protective membrane. When cooking, the membrane loses its protective properties under the influence of high temperature. Therefore, boiled testicles spoil quickly: at 5 ℃ and above after three days, in the refrigerator – after 14 days. If the shell is damaged during cooking, it is better to use the egg immediately, as it spoils after 4 hours.

After heat treatment, the color of the protein should be studied. A gray or bluish color indicates that the product is spoiled.

Storage of raw eggs

The shelf life of freshly collected chicken eggs directly depends on the temperature and storage method.

What is the shelf life of raw egg products? Raw eggs are stored for a long time – up to 5 weeks under certain conditions:

  • store in a container with a lid to avoid penetration of moisture and odors;
  • the container is placed in a dry, cold and well-ventilated place;
  • testicles are stored with the blunt end up;
  • if cracks or chips are found on the shell, the testicle is used immediately.

Separated protein and yolk are stored completely differently. The protein is stored in a glass container in the refrigerator. Duration of storage – 4 days.

The yolk becomes unusable after 3 hours because it dries quickly. There is one trick. The yolk is placed in a glass container filled with cold water. Thus, the yolk is protected from drying out and remains fresh for 48 hours.

At room temperature

Chicken eggs remain fresh for 14 days at 5-20 °C. If the temperature exceeds 20 ℃, the fertilized eggs will begin incubation, and the unfertilized ones will rot quickly.

There are tricks to increase the shelf life of chicken eggs:

  1. Eggs are preserved with lime solution. The taste, of course, changes, the useful properties are preserved throughout the year. Before preserving the product, it must be treated with liquid paraffin.
  2. You can rub the testicles with refined oil or lard. Processed products are placed in a box covered with oats. The testicles are covered with oats on top. A mandatory condition is that the eggs are placed at a distance from each other so that they do not touch. The sharp end is directed downwards.
  3. If you store the testicles in a saline solution, the shelf life of egg products is extended to 5 weeks.

Only fresh and clean testicles without external defects are taken for storage.

The shelf life of chicken eggs

In the fridge

Homemade testicles can be stored for up to 120 days at 1-2 ℃. At this temperature, salmonella bacteria cannot multiply. The product intended for use without cooking is stored for one week.

Do not place a container with egg products in the refrigerator door. Warm air entering the product when the door is opened shortens the shelf life. It is preferable to use the No Frost compartment.

In the freezer

Raw eggs are rarely frozen. When frozen, the protein expands and the shell bursts. If you can’t do without freezing, freeze the egg without the shell in a container. The product is stored for 12 months.

How to freeze chicken eggs:

  1. Break the shell, put the contents in a container.
  2. Carefully mix the yolk and protein to a homogeneous consistency. It is important that a minimum amount of air gets into the mass.
  3. To avoid graininess after freezing, add a pinch of salt, sugar or honey to the mixture and mix again.
  4. Place the egg mass in the container for freezing so that there is at least 2 centimeters of empty space to the lid.
  5. Hermetically close the lid and put the container in the freezer.

How to properly freeze separated yolks and whites:

  1. Separate yolks and whites.
  2. Mix the yolks with salt or sugar. For a glass of egg yolks, half a teaspoon of salt or one and a half tablespoons of sugar.
  3. Seal tightly and freeze. The shelf life of egg yolks is 6 months.
  4. Beat the whites well and put them in the freezer, having previously closed the lid hermetically.

If it is necessary to freeze the finished product, you should know that boiled protein is not frozen, as it loses its structure. How to freeze ready egg yolks:

  1. Put the cleaned yolk in a pan filled with cold salted water. Cover with a lid, boil.
  2. After 10 minutes, remove the yolk from the water.
  3. You can grind the product or leave it as a whole.
  4. Put the yolk in a container with a lid and put it in the freezer.

Do not re-freeze products. If the eggs have already been thawed, re-freezing will lead to the formation of pathogenic microorganisms.

Storage of eggs for incubation

Hatching eggs can be stored for 6 days before laying. The sooner they are placed in the incubator, the stronger the chicks will hatch. The testicles are placed horizontally. The maximum temperature is 12 ℃, and the air humidity is 80%.

Do not forget that the standards established by the State Technical Service of Ukraine apply to mass-produced egg products, and not to domestic ones.

Storage of boiled eggs

The degree of boiling determines the shelf life of the testicles:

  • hard-boiled – up to 2 weeks;
  • softened – 2 days.

At room temperature

At a temperature above 5 ℃, boiled egg products are stored for no more than three days. At a temperature of 10 ℃, it is recommended to use the egg no later than 12 hours after cooking. After 12 hours, the product begins to deteriorate, becomes covered with mucus.

In the fridge

Boiled eggs should not be placed next to the following products:

  • Fish and seafood;
  • smoked products;
  • citrus fruits;
  • mushrooms and dishes using mushrooms;
  • spices

Raw eggs can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Cleaned – two days.

Egg storage terms:

  • dyed with natural dyes – 14 days;
  • artificial dyes – 16 days;
  • in thermal film – 3 days.

The shelf life of chicken eggs

What affects the shelf life

The shelf life of chicken eggs depends on the following factors:

  • Origin. The factory product is stored for 28 days. Each testicle is stamped with the packing date, not the production date, so it is impossible to know exactly how many eggs were stored until the time of packing and under what conditions. Usually, before packaging, the product is stored for 3-5 days, but it can be longer. If the testicles are homemade, they will keep their properties for 4 months.
  • Storage. Egg products are stored at a certain temperature, humidity level and lighting. If you do not follow at least one condition, the product will quickly deteriorate.
  • If the shell is undamaged, the product is stored for the full term. If there are chips or cracks on the surface of the shell, the eggs are used immediately, as pathogenic microorganisms penetrate into the product.

How to determine freshness

How to check product freshness? The easiest way to check the shelf life of an egg is to place it in a container of water. Over time, the protein dries up, and air accumulates under the shell. Therefore, a fresh egg will immediately sink to the bottom of the container, but a stale one will rise to the surface.

You can take an egg in your hand and shake it. If there is no sloshing and other extraneous sounds, the product is fresh. If there are incomprehensible sounds, air has accumulated inside, which indicates that the testicle is not fresh.

To visually determine the freshness of the product, you need to pay attention to the following:

  • Scent. A rotten chicken egg has a sharp unpleasant smell.
  • Whole clean shell without cracks or chips.
  • The size should correspond to the weight.
  • The presence of markings on each testicle.

There is a special device for checking the freshness of eggs – an ovoscope. It illuminates the product, revealing cracks, blood inclusions, dried yolk, darkening. Large supermarkets are equipped with such equipment.

Shelf life of chicken eggs when stored in the refrigerator and at room temperature