I purchased too many eggs. They are currently two weeks past the best dat and have been in the fridge. Are they safe to eat?
Eggs which are two weeks past their best-by date, stored refrigerated the entire time, will be almost guaranteed safe to eat.
This is what people tend to forget, best by date is only an indicator of freshness, not of safety. It is set conservatively by the packers,
and the egg that was properly refrigerated will easily last weeks after that number, even up to a month or longer past the packing date.
The most rapid and easy test you can run is the float test, and it is oddly satisfying. Just put your egg into a bowl filled with water and
see how it behaves. It sinks lying on its side then it’s fresh and nothing to worry about. It sinks and stands on its end still good, but aging;
use it fast. If it floats, throw it out immediately. The science behind this test is simple, eggs are porous, and with each passing day some
air gets into the egg and moisture escapes, making a bubble. More air means more age.
Moreover, trust your senses of smell and sight before anything else. Crack the egg out into another bowl rather than directly into the pan.
Smell of sulfur, pink or green coloring, and a runny white are what you have to be careful of. A fresh egg without any unusual coloring is
fine for cooking regardless of its age.
Another tip you should remember is that almost all of the work is done by refrigeration. Salmonella in commercially produced eggs poses
little danger from the start, and low temperature slows the growth of bacteria to a minimum. Therefore, two weeks of refrigeration are
much less important than maintaining those conditions throughout. Scrambled or boiled are safer than sunny side up eggs anyway.
