Eggs are one of the easiest (and inexpensive) protein, rich meals. They are quick and easy to fix plus they are packed full of vitamins and minerals which can start your day off just right.

However, too many times people are tossing out perfectly good eggs, simply because the date on the package has passed. What a waste!  Those dates are merely to help the grocery store manager know when to take the eggs off the shelves. In many cases, even after the date has passed the eggs are perfectly fine to eat.

So, Just How Do You Know When an Egg is Bad?

That’s easy! Do the water in a bowl test.

Here are the instructions:

Step1: Fill a bowl with tap water and gently place an egg in the bottom of the bowl.

Step2: Check the position of the egg

  • Laying on its side = The egg is perfectly fine
  • Floating on top of the water = No Bueno – toss that puppy down the drain.
  • Somewhere in between = Maybe OK, but it’s getting close to going bad. This one is your call….

How Long Do Eggs Typically Last?

According to the USDA, When refrigerated, eggs should last about three to five weeks.

There is a 3-digit code on every carton of eggs – this is the day of the year. For example, 001 = January first, and 365 equals the last day of December.

Take a look at this number, this is the day of the year the eggs were packaged.

So for a rough idea of your egg’s freshness factor, take today’s date & subtract the date of on the page. If less than 3 weeks have passed, your eggs are probably fine. It never hurts to do a little test though, plus it’s kind of fun!

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