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Are eggs in Poland refrigerated/not refrigerated?


f stop  24 | 2493  
3 Dec 2013 /  #1
Is this true? Are eggs in Poland not refrigerated as well?

Go to buy eggs in Britain, France or Italy and you'll find them sitting on an unrefrigerated shelf, often near the baking supplies in an aisle in the middle of the store. Head to an American supermarket however, and eggs are always held in refrigerated units, like milk and cheese and other dairy products.

forbes.com/sites/nadiaarumugam/2012/10/25/why-american-eggs-would-be-illegal-in-a-british-supermarket-and-vice-versa/3
InWroclaw  89 | 1910  
4 Dec 2013 /  #2
In Poland, it seems most eggs are on sale on ambient shelves in a cool part of the store, such as near refrigeration units or deli counters etc. Some very expensive organic eggs are sometimes in the chiller, however, but not always and not at every store.

In the UK, eggs are sold in the same way, ie an ambient aisle nearest to the cheese or other chilled stuff.
peterweg  37 | 2305  
4 Dec 2013 /  #3
My brothers wife family were commercial egg producers, they said eggs should not be refrigerated. Room temp is best. UK shops sell eggs at ambient temperatures.

Salmonella attributed to eggs in the UK has gone down to 250 per year since the 2009 figure quoted.

What is interesting is that other foods are now much more risky. Rice is very dangerous(!!) becuase there is a bacteria not killed by boiling which spores after cooking, so should be refrigerated even before its cold.
InWroclaw  89 | 1910  
4 Dec 2013 /  #4
rice...so should be refrigerated even before its cold.

I used to live with a chap who cooked rice in a rice cooker, and left it out for the next day's use and day after that. I used to tell him it was unsafe but he laughed at me. He seemed to never get ill and ate a lot of the stuff.
Peter59  4 | 35  
4 Dec 2013 /  #5
The unrefrigerated egg issue in Poland really puzzled me last year when I was visiting. Here in the U.S. a store would not be able to sell eggs set out in this way. The health department would be on their door step in a heartbeat. Even when I sell eggs at a local farmers market we are required to have them in a cooler. I was always told that when you wash eggs you remove a protective coating on their shells and causes them to spoil faster. Unwashed eggs will keep a long time at room temperature.
OP f stop  24 | 2493  
4 Dec 2013 /  #6
Here is more info on refrigerated eggs. But it's important to keep in mind that the strain of salmonella in Europe that killed a bunch of chickens and caused the UK vaccinations has not reached US. Yet.

io9.com/americans-why-do-you-keep-refrigerating-your-eggs-1465309529
p3undone  7 | 1098  
4 Dec 2013 /  #7
Interesting I never knew that people didn't refrigerate eggs,And I have never refrigerated rice.
Meathead  5 | 467  
4 Dec 2013 /  #8
If America was just like Europe what would be the point of moving from Europe. Refrigerate your Eggs!
peterweg  37 | 2305  
4 Dec 2013 /  #9
But it's important to keep in mind that the strain of salmonella in Europe that killed a bunch of chickens and caused the UK vaccinations has not reached US. Yet.

Whats so good about the US strain of salmonella that 150,000 Americans get each year? Doesn't it make you ill or kill people?

That number is 120 times the number in the UK (per person).

Which do you prefer, the UK egg production method without refrigeration, with each egg individually date and time stamped, printed with an identification number showing where it was produced - or good all fashioned AMERICAN salmonella?

I think making every egg traceable back to the farmer was a bigg step towards the eradication of salmonella. If the flock is infected its quickly slaughtered.

Lion Mark

If America was just like Europe what would be the point of moving from Europe. Refrigerate your Eggs!

Only about one-third of farmers here choose to inoculate their flocks. Farmers cite cost as the main reason not to opt for vaccination -FDA estimates say it would cost about 14 cents a bird. The average hen produces about 260 eggs over the course of her lifetime.

Without the assurance that American egg-laying hens have been vaccinated against salmonella, it's prudent to store our eggs in the fridge, just in case.

InWroclaw  89 | 1910  
4 Dec 2013 /  #10
Interesting I never knew that people didn't refrigerate eggs,And I have never refrigerated rice.

Didn't we live together in a big detached house in Essex?

:o)

PS Ale jaja.
OP f stop  24 | 2493  
4 Dec 2013 /  #11
I think an average person gets salmonella poisoning much more often then we think. I bet most of the cases of what we call stomach virus may be salmonella related.

About dozen times each year we hear the warnings to avoid particular foods, like cantaloupes, lettuce, pine nuts or cucumbers. Aflalfa sprouts keep popping up as a culprit.

Real ceasar dressing (because it calls for raw egg) has been banned in restaurants!
Since salmonella is easily killed with high temperature, we are inundated with warnings about undercooked food.
In certain southern countries, you cannot get meat any other way but well done, no matter how much you beg.

But, with so many vegetables becoming carriers, it would behoove us to hurry up with human vaccine.

I was just trying to decide if I should refrigerate my eggs or not, and since there is no way of knowing how long they've been on the store's shelf, I'll keep refrigerating mine.
InWroclaw  89 | 1910  
4 Dec 2013 /  #12
I was just trying to decide if I should refrigerate my eggs or not, and since there is no way of knowing how long they've been on the store's shelf, I'll keep refrigerating mine.

Some of the small grocery stores do indeed refrigerate their eggs here, as their turnover is slower than the big shops'.
peterweg  37 | 2305  
4 Dec 2013 /  #13
I think an average person gets salmonella poisoning much more often then we think. I bet most of the cases of what we call stomach virus may be salmonella related.

I doubt it, salmonella is like death, I know I had it. Never felt as bad before or since.

Some of the small grocery stores do indeed refrigerate their eggs here, as their turnover is slower than the big shops'.

Which is illegal.

Double reason not to buy eggs there, old and becoming contaminated when taken out of the fridge.
OP f stop  24 | 2493  
4 Dec 2013 /  #14
I doubt it, salmonella is like death, I know I had it. Never felt as bad before or since.

actually, in US less than 1 in 3 salmonella cases are reported or diagnosed. There are over 2000 different strains of salmonella. I believe I've had it few times, most after succumbing to the desire of eating street vendors' food, few abroad.

After E. Coli, salmonella is very common cause of travelers' diarrhea. Some symptoms last a day or two, others have much harder time with it.
Meathead  5 | 467  
5 Dec 2013 /  #15
Since salmonella is easily killed with high temperature, we are inundated with warnings about undercooked food.

I even bake my dog's food before I serve it to him (to avoid salmonella of course!).
OP f stop  24 | 2493  
5 Dec 2013 /  #16
I like raw foods; sushi, rare steak or steak tartare, rare or slightly cooked eggs, raw oysters and clams... it's gonna kill me one day.
InWroclaw  89 | 1910  
7 Dec 2013 /  #17
I said earlier: Some of the small grocery stores do indeed refrigerate their eggs here, as their turnover is slower than the big shops.

Which is illegal.

I can now confirm that today I saw a major supermarket (no, not Tesco) with their ordinary eggs in 2 different cabinets which, by the sound and feel of the cabinets, had some refrigeration on. Probably not on full tilt, but they seemed to be switched on. I couldn't see a temp gauge.

Most consumers here would be surprised to learn that it is against the regs to do that, if indeed it is, and I assume it is if you say it is.
Gienek  - | 6  
7 Dec 2013 /  #18
Two summers ago I had four Polish college students spending the summer with me at my house in Montana (they were working in my city for the summer and needed a place to stay). It made no sense to them that I refrigerated my eggs. Also, it blew their minds if I boiled a dozen eggs and then put the hard-boiled eggs in the fridge and ate them over the course of a few days.

This past October I was in Gdańsk and ordered jajecznica (scrambled eggs) at a local eatery. Then I left for Toruń and eventually got so sick that I spent three days in a hospital. The doctors made some tests and told me that I Salmonella poisoning. I didn't know if I was going to die from the Salmonella or the kleik the doctors and nurses were trying to make me eat!!! ;-)

Eh... After the Salmonella poisoning (and resulting bout of reactive arthritis in my knees and ankles that I am still dealing with... Lucky me!!!), I may never let anyone cook an egg for me again.
grubas  12 | 1382  
7 Dec 2013 /  #19
It made no sense to them that I refrigerated my eggs.

Very strange.I always thought eggs have to be kept in a fridge and I am surprised it is not exactly true.

Also, it blew their minds if I boiled a dozen eggs and then put the hard-boiled eggs in the fridge and ate them over the course of a few days.

Why?People in Poland do that too but mainly during and shortly after Easter.

Then I left for Toruń and eventually got so sick that I spent three days in a hospital.

I got sick (food poisoned) after eating fast food in the US at least 4 times (Wendy's and McDonalds).
InWroclaw  89 | 1910  
7 Dec 2013 /  #20
Then I left for Toruń and eventually got so sick that I spent three days in a hospital.

Horrible story, and sorry to read you have suffered.

FWIW, I keep my eggs in a fridge and always have.

Here, a UK newspaper reports that scientists did a study and found in or out of a fridge made no difference to how eggs kept. I'm not sure what to believe, but I will probably continue to keep mine in a fridge, as after all most fridges have egg compartments.

dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2421530/So-eggs-fridge-Scientists-crack-age-old-argument-chilled-room-temperature-best.html

EXTRACT:
/...FoodTest provides the food and drink industry with government-approved laboratory analysis to ensure the safety, quality and legality of their products.

The company kept two batches of eggs for a fortnight, one at room temperature, the other at a typical fridge temperature of 6c.

Samples from both batches were regularly tested for nasties such as E.coli, the superbug staphylococcus aureus, salmonella, listeria and campylobacter.

The results, taken at the start point of the test, at the end of the first week and at the end of the second week, were all the same.

There was no difference whatsoever between the two batches. Both remained bacteria-free...

peterweg  37 | 2305  
8 Dec 2013 /  #21
The Mail, as ever, is full of ********.

The American websites make the correct call; if your eggs are treated to be stored in the fridge (i.e. the USA) keep them in the fridge.

For us Europeans, you do not have to keep them in the fridge and its probably best not to.
Gienek  - | 6  
8 Dec 2013 /  #22
Why?People in Poland do that too but mainly during and shortly after Easter.

FWIW, I keep my eggs in a fridge and always have.

Hmmm... I guess some Poles keep raw eggs and hard boiled eggs in the fridge and some don't.

I got sick (food poisoned) after eating fast food in the US at least 4 times (Wendy's and McDonalds).

ACK!!! Sorry to hear that. After visiting Poland six times in the past three years and eating REAL food (the kind my babcia used to make), I no longer eat American "fast food." Actually, I wonder how I ever did!!!

Horrible story, and sorry to read you have suffered.

Thanks for your kind words. Yeah, the salmonella poisoning was horrible. The reactive arthritis has been worse. But I have tough Polish blood in me. I will get better. ;-)

PS My friend Ewelina lives in Wrocław. She ate at "Kurna Chata" today. It is my FAVORITE restaurant in Poland!!! ;-)
InWroclaw  89 | 1910  
8 Dec 2013 /  #23
PS My friend Ewelina lives in Wrocław. She ate at "Kurna Chata" today. It is my FAVORITE restaurant in Poland!!! ;-)

Thanks, noted and I might dine there, thanks for the tip :o)
Szczerbaty  4 | 49  
8 Dec 2013 /  #24
Unwashed eggs will keep a long time at room temperature.

I always found eggs with chickensh*t on them in Polish grocery stores rather.....unique. They were pretty good though. Peter seems to have given a practical answer to the mystery.
lateStarter  2 | 45  
8 Dec 2013 /  #25
We pay extra to get fresh (non-factory produced = no stamps) from our local village store. Not always available, but we try. I don't think they ever stay in the store more than a day, they are in such high demand. Better taste, visibly better yoke color, etc.

Anyway, issue will be a non-issue for us next year because wife gave me the go ahed to get our own chickens next year. Probably start with just 6-10 to get a feel for how to take care of them. Everything will be instantly consumed so we don't have to worry about spoilage or refrigeration issues. She is also thinking about getting a couple of geese.
4 eigner  2 | 816  
8 Dec 2013 /  #26
Is this true? Are eggs in Poland not refrigerated as well?

geez girl, you're from Poland, you know what it is like in Poland, why ask...
OP f stop  24 | 2493  
9 Dec 2013 /  #27
is this your valuable contribution to the discussion on the subject?
dhrynio  5 | 90  
9 Dec 2013 /  #28
It really depends, mass produced eggs are often in refridgerated, but farm fresh eggs are usually kept at room temp.
LucasMoore  - | 2  
12 Mar 2014 /  #29
Some grocery stores refrigerate the eggs.
InWroclaw  89 | 1910  
12 Mar 2014 /  #30
Lots of supermarkets do too. I'm not sure of the legal rights and wrongs, but it's definitely happening.

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