How long will fresh chicken eggs keep in the refrigerator?

Answer

Here is a true test of freshness: get a bowl of cold water. Put the whole egg in the water. If it sinks it's fresh. If it floats to the top it is old. It will kind of lay almost on its side. You can see the age of it by how much it floats. It's a good idea to do this test before selling any eggs if you suspect they are older than two weeks.

However, by putting the eggs in water, you wash away the bloom from the egg, a protective layering that prevents bacteria from entering the egg. Therefore, unless you are not expecting to keep the eggs for very long, you should not put them in water. If you must wash the eggs use HOT running water.

Length of Time Chicken Eggs are Good

• Farmers have 30 days from the day an egg is laid to get it to stores. Then, the stores have another 30 days to sell the eggs. The FDA recomends a maximum of 5 weeks in your refrigerator before you discard your eggs. What does this all boil down to? On April 1st, you could be eating an egg for breakfast laid on Christmas. *Someone who talked with an egg farmer was told from the day it was laid, the egg has 30 days. I assume that means until the sale date, but that was not made clear. *Even if that is true, keep in mind that farmers generally get their eggs to stores within a week, and both the "pack date" and "sell by" date are stamped onto the carton. The numbers run from 1-365 depending on the day of the year. Lastly, there is a big difference in taste between farm fresh eggs and one week old eggs. If you want the freshest eggs, you can buy from a local farmer. *

First answer by Jadeacres. Last edit by Jadeacres. Contributor trust: 175 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 87 [recommend question]