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This Insane Fact About Store-Bought Eggs Is Going Viral

Photo credit: Getty Images
Photo credit: Getty Images

From Delish

Everyone has a little-known secret up their sleeve when it comes to grocery shopping-like time-saving tactics, coupon-clipping strategies, or meal planning systems to reduce waste. But did you know that the eggs you're picking up in the dairy aisle might be hiding a secret? For starters, they might not be as fresh as you think, despite the carton's "best by" label. Here's what you need to know in order to avoid some bad eggs.

A recent post on Facebook that has gone viral shows eggs at the grocery store that were more than 30 days old.

A few weeks ago I mentioned how the average grocery store egg might be 45 days old (or more) by the time you buy it. A...

Posted by Fresh Eggs Daily on Tuesday, January 19, 2016

And it would seem this "Fresh Eggs Daily" page has a strong argument. After all, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires that all egg products are labeled with the following: product name, manufacturer's name, official identification, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) approval number, ingredients statement, net weight statement, and nutrition information. . Yet there is no rule regarding expiration dates.

Unfortunately, with the exception of baby formula, the FDA does not require food manufacturers to place "best before," "expired by," or "use by" dates on products-it's solely up the individual company's discretion. However, an expiration date could be required by individual states' laws so you should definitely keep checking it.

Another voluntary label includes a number (1 through 365), marking which day of the year the eggs were placed in their carton. That being said, as the University of Nebraska-Lincoln reports, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) clarifies that "you can still store fresh shell eggs in their cartons in the refrigerator for four to five weeks beyond this date."

Here's how to accurately read all the codes on your carton of eggs to understand when they were packaged, how long they'll last, and what "Grade A" actually means:

Photo credit: USDA
Photo credit: USDA

Because temperature is one of the prime factors that control the growth of bacteria in food, both the FDA and USDA have issued regulations for the safe handling, transport, and storage of eggs. "Many types of pathogens and spoilage bacteria are prevented from multiplying in properly refrigerated foods that are not out of date," the FDA site says. That's why the USDA published a final rule requiring all shell eggs packed for consumers to be stored and transported at 45 degrees F. Additionally, federal regulations also require eggs to be kept under refrigeration at 45 degrees F or lower once they're delivered to retailers.

So while they might have been sitting in cardboard or styrofoam packages for a while, your eggs aren't necessarily unsafe to eat. And, after all of this, you still don't trust the egg company to do the math between the Julian date and the "best by" date, then either break out the calculator or pick a different brand to buy.

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