People in the US need to refrigerate eggs but not in Europe, find out why
There is a significant difference in the way eggs are stored in the American and Europe. While Europeans are pretty comfortable storing their eggs at room temperature, Americans store them in refrigerators. If you are an American and you are tempted to store your eggs at room temperature like Europeans. Then you should read on further because it can be the biggest mistake that you might make.
Storing eggs outside at room temperature in the America is not recommended. It is because of the presence of salmonella in the eggs. This is a harmful little bug that can cause extreme digestive problems if present in significant numbers. The eggs produced in the American farms are often contaminated with this bug which is not the case with European eggs. When you store these eggs at room temperature, the bug can multiple freely to attain a population that can upset our health. Thus, it is necessary to refrigerate eggs in the US.
People in the US need to refrigerate eggs but not in Europe, Here is why Salmonella is a national epidemic in the US
Salmonella has already a major threat in the United States. The U.S. Department of Agriculture revealed that more than 1, 40, 000 people are falling prey to salmonella poisoning every year in the US. In fact, the situation is so severe in the US that it was regarded as a “national epidemic“. When you do not refrigerate eggs in the US, you are actually inviting trouble in the form of salmonella poisoning.
Difference in the Egg Production makes it necessary to refrigerate eggs in the US
The US Department of Agriculture has laid down strong rules and regulation for egg producers to control this situation. According to the recommendations by USDA, the eggs must be properly washed to before they are available for sale on the market. In the first step, these eggs must be rinsed in hot water followed by spraying with chlorine after they have been dried off. This method ensures that salmonella cannot infect eggs from outside due to contact with organic matter or chicken manure.
Europeans adopt a completely different approach to preventing an egg from getting infected with salmonella. If we take the example of United Kingdom, the hens are vaccinated to prevent contamination from inside. For preventing the contamination from outside, they rely on the naturally occurring protective layer over the egg called cuticle. The approach of not keeping eggs in refrigerators is actually a part of this strategy. As fluctuation in temperature can damage this layer. The eggs produced in the US lack protective layer as it is removed during washing. Some producers try to create a synthetic coating but still USDA recommends refrigeration to rule out any possibilities of contamination.
European producers success
European producers have been pretty successful in their approach of immunization to prevent salmonella from infecting eggs. The success of the Europeans is prompting American to follow the same approach. We have already witnessed a nasty salmonella outbreak in 2010 while the cases of salmonella continue to decline in the United Kingdom. We also need to take into account that the eggs that are produced in the backyard flocks do not follow any regulations.
In the meantime, people in the US need to refrigerate eggs safely as a preventive measure. Moreover, there are no harmful effects of refrigerating eggs. Some experts might tell you that eggs can pick up the flavor of some other food items stored in your refrigerator. But, it only occurs when eggs are stored for long. Also, it is not such a major issue to discourage you from storing eggs in refrigerators.
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