EGGS: TO WASH, OR NOT TO WASH?

This topic comes up frequently, so here is the low down on the egg regulations for Alberta small flock producers:If you are selling your eggs, or they are otherwise leaving your farm for human consumption, they MUST be washed and refrigerated.

https://qp.alberta.ca/documents/Regs/2004_023.pdf

“The provincial egg regulation, the Purchase and Sale of Eggs and Processed Egg Regulation, affects the sale of eggs direct to end consumers. According to the regulation, uninspected, ungraded eggs can be sold directly to consumers for their own personal use provided that:§ the eggs are produced on the producer’s own farm§ the eggs are clean, have no visible cracks and are not leaking§ the eggs are kept at an ambient temperature of 7° C or lessthe eggs are packed in clean containers that are conspicuously labeled with the word “UNINSPECTED” in letters that are at least 2 centimeters in height”

I personally reached out to the Ag Info Center of the Alberta Agriculture and Forestry department in January 2018 for clarification and yes, they confirmed that eggs from small flock producers must be properly washed in order to be considered clean.

So wash your eggs if you are going to sell them or give them away for human consumption. That’s it. That’s the whole story. That’s the law.

If you aren’t selling or giving away your eggs, you can do what you want.

We hear a lot of protest about ‘but the bloom!’ and ‘but they don’t wash them in Europe!’ and ‘my mother always kept them on the counter when she lived in Italy!’The ‘bloom’ doesn’t protect against Salmonella. It also doesn’t keep the eggs fresher or make them better for you. The ‘bloom’ is dried mucous from the hen’s reproductive tract. It’s not magical. Egg shells are porous, which means bacteria can move in and out of the eggs, along with air. The ‘bloom’ doesn’t change the porosity, otherwise incubating chicks would suffocate in the shell.

Listen. Across the pond, they vaccinate their hens against Salmonella. We don’t do that in North America. That’s why they can keep their eggs on the shelf at room temperature and we find ours in the refrigerated section of the grocery store. Our small flock hens are also not vaccinated against salmonella, so refrigerate your eggs, please.