Originally Posted by skizziks (Post 2564579)

Travelling through Mexico and Guatemala ive noticed they dont refrigerate eggs. They have them on shelves in the store. Ive been buying and eating the eggs and so far so good.

Then I remembered, they dont refrigerate eggs in France or Germany either, and probably not much of europe.

So why do we refrigerate eggs in the states?

Originally Posted by Tully Mars (Post 2564583)

I don't know. I know I don't anymore but did prior to moving to Mexico. Been doing that for over a year now and haven't had any problems. Of course once their cooked I do refrigerate any left overs.

Originally Posted by luciferase75 (Post 2564585)

You don't refrigerate eggs? See that's weird to me. They might be able to sit on the shelf for a while, but eggs go bad so easy that I wouldn't risk that. AFAIK, they are nowhere near sterile in the carton.

Originally Posted by Tully Mars (Post 2564597)

How long is a while?

I've been buying them off the self now for over a year and they sit in a wire basket hanging in my kitchen. I have no idea how long they've sat on the shelf. I eat a boiled egg with and apple and a can of V-8 every morning. So I go through a dozen in no more then two weeks. Been doing this for some time now and according to all my neighbors they've been doing this for most of their lives. Don't know about them but I'm certain the eggs have never made me ill.

Originally Posted by LordEden (Post 2564598)

If I remember my Servsafe (USPH food handling class), all dairy HAS to be refrigerated, but it's been a year and I could be wrong.

Originally Posted by luciferase75 (Post 2564614)

See in europe I believe they don't refrigerate dairy at all after the irradiation. They might to cool it off if they like it cold, but many places keep it on the shelf. It's supposed to last for weeks or maybe even months like this.

Originally Posted by onesnowyowl (Post 2564652)

In Europe milk typically comes packed in a Tetra Pak, which is aseptic packaging, like what soy milk comes in here. Packaging it this way makes it shelf-stable. A couple of companies have tried selling shelf-stable milk in the United States, but it seems that American consumers can't get over the idea that milk should be refrigerated.

Originally Posted by onesnowyowl (Post 2564652)

despite the fact that the odds of contracting salmonella from eggs is very low (only 1 in every 30,000 is suspected to have salmonella).

Originally Posted by luciferase75 (Post 2564678)

I don't know. I get something from free range eggs all the time, if I don't cook them. If my wife is making cake batter and I eat some with free range eggs, more often than not I get a little irritated later. Nothing bad, but enough to know something is off. With white eggs I never really had that problem.

Originally Posted by wikipedia

Ultra-high temperature processing or (less often) ultra-heat treatment (both abbreviated UHT) is the partial sterilization of food by heating it for a short time, around 1-2 seconds, at a temperature exceeding 135°C (275°F), which is the temperature required to kill spores in milk.[1] The high temperature also reduces the processing time, thereby reducing the spoiling of nutrients. The most common UHT product is milk, but the process is also used for fruit juices, cream, yoghurt, wine, soups, and stews.[1]UHT milk was invented in the 1960s, and became generally available for consumption in 1970s.[2]

High heat during the UHT process can cause Maillard browning and change the sensory characteristics of dairy products.[3]

UHT milk has a typical shelf life of six to nine months, until opened. It can be contrasted with HTST pasteurization (high temperature/short time), in which the milk is heated to 72°C (161.6°F) for at least 15 seconds.

Originally Posted by ironman (Post 2564803)

I'm Guatemalan, and we never ever refrigerate them unless you wash them after bringing them home. If an egg is exposed to water it goes bad really quick, otherwise, eggs do have a very long shelf life. I've found that cooking refrigerated eggs is harder and the flavor of it tends to change, but that's just me anyway...

Originally Posted by skizziks (Post 2564815)

not just you. the trick to a great omlette is to let the eggs come to room temperature

Originally Posted by onesnowyowl (Post 2564652)

In Europe milk typically comes packed in a Tetra Pak, which is aseptic packaging, like what soy milk comes in here. Packaging it this way makes it shelf-stable. A couple of companies have tried selling shelf-stable milk in the United States, but it seems that American consumers can't get over the idea that milk should be refrigerated.

As for eggs, I don't know for sure, but I would guess it has something to do with our fear of contracting salmonella from said eggs (specifically salmonella enterica), despite the fact that the odds of contracting salmonella from eggs is very low (only 1 in every 30,000 is suspected to have salmonella).

Originally Posted by lostgirl (Post 2564681)

The reason eggs have to be refrigerated in the US, is because of the commercial processing of the eggs. They are washed before being packaged.
An egg has what is called a "bloom" on it which is natures way of preserving the egg. If you wash the egg, you will remove the bloom and the egg contents will deteriorate very quickly.