Food - Drink
Here's Why People Outside The US Don't Refrigerate Eggs
By CLAIRE REDDEN
In America, shopping for eggs means making a way to the refrigerated section where eggs are sold beside milk and other dairy products. While eggs are kept cold in grocery stores across the United States, eggs are sitting on shelves out in the open in other countries, with no refrigerator in sight.
Back in the ‘70s, salmonella was discovered to be running rampant through chicken farms, and to keep the bacteria at bay, a law was passed requiring farmers to rinse the eggs before putting them in stores. However, not only would any bacteria on the eggs rinse away, but their protective coatings would also go down the drain.
Without their cuticles, the eggs in the U.S. would need to be refrigerated, just as they are today. Other countries combat salmonella by vaccinating their chickens and making it illegal for egg producers to wash eggs, so they can keep the coatings of their eggs intact.