[inzonedj89]

Should I eat the egg it say best by 07/27/09 but it been 3 days now(today 7/30/09) . So it safe for me to eat it?

I was about to cook egg until I saw the date.

Why did the food and drug administration put best by instead of due by, it would make more sense?

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Well, we're not a food safety site, so I decided to put my Google skills to the test and found this link. It states on that page that eggs should last 3-5 weeks past the time they're purchased if properly stored, but the date on the package will usually have expired by then. I'd say you're safe - I routinely use eggs past the date on the package.

Use of either a "Sell-By" or "Expiration" (EXP) date is not federally required, but may be State required, as defined by the egg laws in the State where the eggs are marketed. Some State egg laws do not allow the use of a "sell-by" date.

Many eggs reach stores only a few days after the hen lays them. Egg cartons with the USDA grade shield on them must display the "pack date" (the day that the eggs were washed, graded, and placed in the carton). The number is a three-digit code that represents the consecutive day of the year (the "Julian Date") starting with January 1 as 001 and ending with December 31 as 365. When a "sell-by" date appears on a carton bearing the USDA grade shield, the code date may not exceed 45 days from the date of pack.

Always purchase eggs before the "Sell-By" or "EXP" date on the carton. After the eggs reach home, refrigerate the eggs in their original carton and place them in the coldest part of the refrigerator, not in the door. For best quality, use eggs within 3 to 5 weeks of the date you purchase them. The "sell-by" date will usually expire during that length of time, but the eggs are perfectly safe to use.

[sari]

Well, we're not a food safety site, so I decided to put my Google skills to the test and found this link. It states on that page that eggs should last 3-5 weeks past the time they're purchased if properly stored, but the date on the package will usually have expired by then. I'd say you're safe - I routinely use eggs past the date on the package.

Use of either a "Sell-By" or "Expiration" (EXP) date is not federally required, but may be State required, as defined by the egg laws in the State where the eggs are marketed. Some State egg laws do not allow the use of a "sell-by" date.

Many eggs reach stores only a few days after the hen lays them. Egg cartons with the USDA grade shield on them must display the "pack date" (the day that the eggs were washed, graded, and placed in the carton). The number is a three-digit code that represents the consecutive day of the year (the "Julian Date") starting with January 1 as 001 and ending with December 31 as 365. When a "sell-by" date appears on a carton bearing the USDA grade shield, the code date may not exceed 45 days from the date of pack.

Always purchase eggs before the "Sell-By" or "EXP" date on the carton. After the eggs reach home, refrigerate the eggs in their original carton and place them in the coldest part of the refrigerator, not in the door. For best quality, use eggs within 3 to 5 weeks of the date you purchase them. The "sell-by" date will usually expire during that length of time, but the eggs are perfectly safe to use.

[Chopin]

Also, most companies design their best-before dates so a certain (very high) percentage of their products are expected to expire after that date. It's all basic Stats

[dsenette]

bad eggs are pretty easy to identify....if you crack it open and it looks like anything other than a normal egg...throw it out....if it smells like anything other than a normal egg....throw it out

if all else fails...bury it under ground for a week until you get one of These

[sari]

My mother taught me that if an egg floats, it means it's rotten.

[dsenette]

that's actually relatively true

the decomposition of the egg inside the shell releases certain gases (mainly CO2 i think) that are retained by the shell and thus make the egg float...but at a certain point during the process....that gas leaches through the egg shell (which is why you can smell a rotten egg from a mile away)...which then allows the egg to sink again...

[sari]

But if you can smell it, you don't need the float test.

[dsenette]

indeed....which is why people rarely put me in water

[sari]

Do monkeys float? And what's up with the new avatar? You have a formal event to attend?

[crooz]

I totally agree with all of the above... albeit the bit about the monkey suit.

If stored at a reasonable temperature, in my experience, eggs last easily up to a week past the 'best by' date. Just yesterday I hard-boiled 5 eggs that were 7 days past due. I've eaten two of them since and haven't experienced any unpleasantries and they tasted perfectly good.
Regardless, following logical rules of storage and preparation, stay away of any eggs that indicate they might be 'on the way out.'

No-one should dabble with their health for the cost of a CHEAP egg.

Edited by crooz, 31 July 2009 - 02:06 PM.

[bustermoves]

as long as they dont smell funny,or theres a leg or a beak in there when you open it,they are probably ok.

[sari]

Years ago, my mother cooked a soft-boiled egg. When she cracked it open, there was a half-formed chick inside. :/

[Cold Titanium]

I think that's actually a delicacy in Japan. Of course almost everything in Japan is a delicacy, no offense meant.

[Octagonal]

Years ago, my mother cooked a soft-boiled egg. When she cracked it open, there was a half-formed chick inside. :/

So which came first... the chicken or the egg?

[Kat]

Years ago, my mother cooked a soft-boiled egg. When she cracked it open, there was a half-formed chick inside. :/

This is why my daughter won't eat eggs - at all. The thought of them freaks her out. She's convinced she'll crack one open, and there'll be a baby chicken in there.

Of course, this is the child who stopped eating meat when she was about 9 years old. She refuses, and does not stray from her convictions. I'm proud of that, actually.

PS - not sure I want to test the water (so to speak) to see if the monkey floats or not