Do I need to wash my eggs before cooking and storage?

Most scientists agree that eggs must be washed before cooking, and especially carefully - before eating raw. However, there are different, conflicting views on whether disinfection is necessary before laying in the incubator and before storage.

Briefly about the essence of the danger

As you know, the eggs appear from the anus of birds, this alone causes a desire to wash them to a shine. The danger really lies in those infections that fall on the shell along with natural waste products:

• salmonella
• helminths
• mycoplasmas.

They do not get inside the egg until the shell is intact. But, it is worth a crack, and the infection is quite capable of infecting the product or the hatched chick.

Are there any safe eggs?

It is difficult to give a definite answer. It’s safe any egg that was laid by a 100% healthy bird, be it a goose or a miniature quail. The problem is that not a single enterprise, let alone a farm or a household, can guarantee the health of all its birds.

Do I need to wash quail eggs?

These birds are not as strong as ducks or geese, but still prone to salmonellosis, plus they also have mycoplasmas and helminths. Therefore, quail eggs require exactly the same treatment as chicken. The difference is that the risk is slightly lower, because, according to the observations of breeders, the immunity of small birds is higher than that of long-domesticated chickens.

Interesting fact
The first place in the risk of salmonellosis is not chicken eggs at all, but duck and goose eggs.

Two approaches to storage and breeding

Why don't harmful microorganisms infect the yolk and protein until the shells crack? After all, it is covered with micropores ... It's all about the protective film that envelops the egg from the outside - the cuticle. She is a powerful barrier between any bacteria and the inside of an egg. If you wash the egg thoroughly, it will damage the cuticle - any infection easily penetrates through the pores into the product. Therefore, Russian scientists believe: eggs should not be washed before storage.

Foreign experts have a different opinion: even at the factory, the shell must be disinfected, and before long-term storage - wash and put in a clean tray intended only for eggs. However, even the cleanest dishes do not give sterility, otherwise the products in the refrigerator would never spoil.

The same double approach to incubation. Disinfection proponents believe that you need to take care of the chicks and disinfect the eggs before laying in the incubator. In the opposite case, barely hatched, the chicks run the risk of becoming infected, and their body is still too weak to resist infections.

Opponents of the approach insist that disinfection of the shell interferes with the natural formation of immunity. The result is a weak, disease-resistant population.

Interesting fact
In laboratory conditions, more chicks emerge from disinfected eggs. However, farm experience does not confirm these results.

Before cooking

Resource purityis.decorexpro.com/en/Having examined all the pros and cons, it strongly recommends that readers always wash their eggs before cooking. Especially if the eggs are bought on the market or taken from a home roost.

If there are cracks on the egg or it is not fresh (according to scientists, the cuticle protection weakens 5 days after laying, storage in the refrigerator only partially slows down the process), it is recommended not only to thoroughly wash the shell, but also cook the product for at least 10 minutes, and fry eggs and omelettes on both sides.

What to wash

Before eating, an egg is washed with laundry soap, a napkin or sponge is then recommended to be thrown out. As a compromise, a dishwashing detergent, toilet or antibacterial soap will do. An important nuance is that the substance should not get inside the product, therefore it is strictly forbidden to take strongly smelling, especially toxic toxic substances.

For an incubator, the shell is most often treated with special means: Virocid, Monclavit-1, Brocarsept, etc. Simpler hydrogen peroxide (up to 1.5%) and potassium permanganate are also suitable for surgery. The eggs are soaked in the solution, and then the adhering dirt is removed with a soft brush or sponge. Then let the shell dry on a clean cloth.

Important
Soak the eggs for incubation in a warm solution, from 30 to 36 degrees Celsius.

In general, any eggs are a biologically dirty product, if we talk about the outer shell. Washing eggs is not a good idea before storage, because the procedure damages the cuticle, and it protects the inside of the product better than any dishes or moderate cold.

Before cooking, it is imperative to wash the eggs, and not immediately under running water, but first wiping them with a sponge with soap or soaking in a disinfectant and only then dousing with clean water. Factory eggs usually come to stores already clean of droppings, and they always have a safety mark, but caution will never be superfluous.