Eating eggs after best before date

dorsetlady

Hello. I was wondering if many of you eat eggs after the best before date? (I'm sure some of you do) I always did and never had an ill effects. However, I heard on a TV programme (can't remember what) that eggs are the only food that you must not eat after the best before date (use by date is different of course). What do you do?

davetrousers

Pop them in water. Float = bad, sink = good

dorsetlady

I just found this: http://www.eatwell.gov.uk/foodlabels/labellingterms/bestbefore/

It seems there is a risk of salmonella.

adouglasmhor

There is no risk if they pass the sinking test and you cook them properly.

EllanVannin

I get eggs from local farmers directly and they never have a best before date. As above I do the float test if I have had them in for a while. If they don't lie on the bottom of the bowl they are discarded.

littlemissbossy

I'll eat most things after their date but eggs aren't one of them, not sure why though.

zippybungle

I will use eggs if they are past their 'best before date' . They aren't weeks passed it, just a few days or so. Can't say I've noticed any difference.

Zippy x

caroc

In mid December I bought 6 boxes of free range eggs reduced to 20p a box in a store. The b/b date was 17/12/11. I finished them last week, so ate them up to 7 weeks after b/b date. I don't normally do that and wouldn't recommend it, however I didnt suffer any ill effects.

Last week I made a 5 egg mushroom omelette well cooked which tasted fine and had the last 3 poached on toast with runny yolks, they didn't taste so 'fresh', but they looked ok and smelled ok.
I'm not an expert, but I think an egg either has Salmonella or it doesn't, so it just gets older and older if you don't use it. I also used an egg on Saturday 5th Feb which was best before 24th December, again, it looked fine and smelled fine. I had a bad egg once from a farm shop and you can definately tell when they've gone off.

The sink/float test is to do with the air sac inside the egg, the older it gets the bigger the air sac gets so I suppose with time, the liquid inside starts to evaporate and air fills the gap.
I just put one of my 24th December eggs in a bowl of water and its not floating.

kerri_gt

I've used the float/sink test before, never had any ill effects from sunken ones past their BB date, however did crack open a 'floater' and you could smell that it was off.

I think we need to trust our instincts more when it comes to food, after all, it's kept the human race alive for thousands of years, and hen's don't lay according to 'BB' dates lol!

dorsetlady

Thanks for the advice. I just had a hard boiled egg sandwich with an egg that was one week past the best before date. I didn't float and tasted fine!

holidaysforme

I regularly use eggs after their sell by date. i fact i use lots of things that have passed their sll by date.
If it looks fine and smells fine, it normally tastes fine as well.