" > wrote
in
oups.com:

>>Shelf life? Never heard of it for eggs? Are you saying
>>they mark an "expiration date" on the carton or something?
>>I've never seen it if it's there. Never even thought about
>>it? To me it's a weird concept
>
> A weird concept....how? Doesn't your meat, chicken, cheese
> and all other fresh grocery items have "sell by" "use by"
> or "expiration" dates? Where do you live? Eggs that are
> past their prime are just as nasty as any other spoiled or
> not fresh product. This morning I cracked an egg and it
> flowed from the shell like water...the white was thin and
> clear, and the yolk broke immediately. I threw it out.
> And they were from a "NEW" dozen, too. A fresh egg has a
> cloudy white, and definite demarkation where the yolk sits
> up high on the whites. "Older" eggs are better for boiling.
> But I wouldn't go too far over the date. A few days,
> maybe.

that sounds like an improperly stored egg. i get those once
in a while when i find a hidden nest of unknown age in 90+ F
weather... i have *never* had a *bad* egg though (although no
stray nest has ever been over 3 weeks old either).
you can leave real fresh laid eggs on the kitchen counter for
over 2 *weeks* with no degradation in quality, as long as you
don't wash them. of course, all supermarket eggs have been
washed... that's why they have to be refrigerated.
i've had supermarket eggs (back before i got chickens) that i
kept for a couple months & they were ok, as in no worse than
any other supermarket eggs.
just remember you have no control over how the eggs were
stored *before* you bought them & use common sense. no
supermarket egg is going to be fresher than 2 weeks old at any
rate, & in the summer it's possible they were shipped in
unairconditioned trucks or left out in the hot loading bay for
hours...
oh & expiry dates on egg cartons are from date packed, which
has little to do with date laid.
lee

--
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freedom is slavery
ignorance is strength
1984-George Orwell