Eggs are considered very beneficial for health. These are considered a good source of protein and many nutrients. Therefore, from nutritionists to doctors, everyone talks about the benefits of eating eggs daily. However, in recent times there have been many reports of adulteration of eggs. Sometimes, store-bought eggs that look fresh turn out to be spoiled from inside. In some cases, people have even fallen ill after eating them. Therefore, it is very important that you know how to identify real, fake and spoiled eggs.
FSSAI tells how to identify them
Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has given some guidelines to check the quality of eggs, which you can easily follow at home to check the quality of your eggs.
Is an egg floating in water good or bad?
Regarding this, FSSAI has also released a video in which it is explained how to check the egg without breaking it. For this, take a glass of clean water and add egg to it. If the egg settles to the bottom of the glass, it means the egg is fresh and fit to eat. But if it floats slightly above the bottom, it means the egg is about 2 to 3 weeks old but still edible.
However, if the egg floats on the surface of the water, it means the egg is not fresh. There is a small air cell inside the egg. As the egg ages, air leaks in through the holes in the shell, and this air cell becomes larger, causing the stale egg to float on water. However, this method of checking the quality of eggs is not completely sure. Because whether an egg sinks or floats in water depends on the amount of moisture present in the egg.
Test with torch or light
To do this test, shine a bright flashlight on one side of the egg in a dark room. If the egg looks clean and transparent inside, it is fresh. If dark spots or haziness are visible inside, it may be spoiled. You can also check the freshness of the egg by breaking it.
The white of a fresh egg is thick and sticky, and the yolk is hard and round. In contrast, stale egg whites become watery and runny, and the yolk breaks easily. Sometimes, when you break an egg, it smells strange. Egg yolks may also be broken, and this is often caused by a lack of food given to the hens. If chickens have enough corn and soybeans in their diet, this problem does not occur.
stir eggs
Hold the egg near your ear and shake it gently. If you don’t hear any sound, the egg is fresh. But if you hear a splashing or watery sound, it means the egg is stale.
Do not keep eggs on the refrigerator door
Most people keep eggs on the shelf on the refrigerator door. But this is the wrong way to store them. Because the refrigerator door opens and closes several times throughout the day, the temperature of the eggs keeps fluctuating. Therefore, eggs should be kept inside the refrigerator.
Eggs can be eaten even without refrigerator
In winter, eggs can be eaten without refrigeration for at least a month. In summer, eggs may be laid outside for up to 10 days. However, storing them in the refrigerator increases their shelf life.
keep this in mind
If there is a strange or rotten odor (such as sulfur) coming from the egg, throw it away immediately, no matter what it looks like.
