Why is it dangerous to keep eggs on the refrigerator door?
'26.10.2019'
Source: Clever
Opening the refrigerator, any housewife with her eyes closed will determine where and what lies in it. And not only because she folded everything herself, but because there is a place for each product in the refrigerator, depending on the optimal storage temperature for it and, of course, more compact placement of products in the cooling unit. In most cases, an egg has a place on the refrigerator door.
A group of British scientists found that it is in these places that it is most dangerous to store eggs. The reason lies in the stability of the temperature. The egg on the door, due to its constant opening, is subjected to temperature changes, and this significantly reduces the shelf life of the product, writes Clever.
But this is not so bad. It happens that unscrupulous producers save on vaccinating chickens, which makes poultry very easily infected with salmonella. Bacteria of this dangerous disease settle on the eggs. As American scientists established back in the 70 years of the last century, if you store such eggs in a refrigerator, Salmonella bacteria do not die, but they do not multiply. And if you wash these eggs with warm water and soap before sending them for storage, then the bacteria will be completely neutralized. Only eggs must be stored in the refrigerator.
Experts at the University of Bristol School of Veterinary Science, Rosamund Byrd and Janet Corry, also recommend storing eggs only in the refrigerator, so that in the presence of salmonella they will not allow it to breed. Scientists complain that it is impossible to detect a bacterium with the naked eye neither by smell, nor by color, nor by any other signs.
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That is why scientists from the UK who conducted the research insist that it is not safe to store eggs on the door. When you open the refrigerator for several minutes, the temperature on the door changes, which may well provoke a "revival" of bacteria and their penetration through the shell into the egg. This can lead to human infection.
In order to avoid such cases, Rospotrebnadzor experts recommend washing the eggs before sending them to the refrigerator to eliminate the risk of accidental infection.
In the publication Nation News, scientists published the results of experiments according to which the refrigerator door is in any case potentially dangerous for storing eggs. Mainly because the temperature there is never stably low due to the constant opening of the door during the day. Even if the eggs are not infected with anything, such differences lead to an acceleration of egg spoilage - the process of rotting starts prematurely in them.
The marketing manager of one of the companies, Vlatka Lake, advises storing eggs in store packaging on a medium shelf or in a box. But the main thing is to keep them away from other products, especially those with a stable smell: the shell of eggs is porous, it easily absorbs odors, which makes the egg quickly deteriorate. The same Nation News writes that an average-sized egg shell contains 17 000 microscopic pores through which eggs absorb all odors. To prevent this from happening, it is better to store the egg not just on the middle shelf, but in the store packaging, which prevents the penetration of odors, and the product itself remains fresh longer.
If the storage of eggs at home became more or less clear, it is not clear why in the stores they are lying on shelves in the hall, and not in the refrigerator? As European scientists found, eggs outside the refrigerator, if they are unwashed, can be stored for up to 25 days, washed - only 12. But the temperature in the room should not exceed 20 degrees, and relative humidity should be equal to 70-85 percent. In stores, temperatures just below 20 degrees are constantly maintained, so there is no harm to the eggs.
Air Force restaurant columnist Tim Hayward is convinced that a fresh egg should lie in the room at a temperature no higher than 20 degrees Celsius for at least a week for completeness.
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In his book, The Science of Cooking, British doctor Stuart Ferrimond writes that storing eggs on the refrigerator door due to temperature changes can ruin a dish such as scrambled eggs. And if you are going to cook meringues or add eggs to the dough for cakes or pies, they should lie at room temperature for at least half an hour.
Finally, a tip from experts: to safely store eggs in the refrigerator for several weeks, make sure they are fresh. After the purchase, put the egg in water. If it easily went to the bottom and lay there on its side, then this is a fresh egg, if it remained in the same position that it sank, then the shelf life is at the end. But if it does not sink, peering out of the water, the product is hopelessly spoiled.
However, you can arrange a check right in the store. Shake one of the eggs well. If you feel some movement inside, you risk acquiring a spoiled product. In fresh eggs, nothing flounders inside.
