Many refrigerators come with a neat egg tray built into the door, and plenty of people unpack the carton straight into it. Food safety specialists say that little shelf is one of the worst places for eggs. The reason has to do with temperature, odors and the box most of us throw away.
In short
- The door is the part of the fridge that warms up every time you open it.
- The Egg Safety Center says to keep eggs in their carton, in the coldest part of the fridge, “not in the door.”
- Clemson Extension recommends 40°F or slightly below and using raw eggs within three to five weeks.
- The carton also shields the shells from odors and keeps the date in front of you.
Why the door is the problem
The Egg Safety Center, run by the American Egg Board, puts it plainly: “The carton should be placed in the coldest part of the refrigerator, not in the door, where temperatures may fluctuate when it is opened and closed.”
Kimberly Baker, PhD, RD, of Clemson Extension, told Hunker that eggs belong in “the coldest part of the refrigerator,” at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or less. Because the door is opened so often, it can warm up over the course of the day. Warmer eggs, she explains, may allow bacteria such as salmonella to grow and multiply.
Why the carton matters
Egg shells are “extremely porous, meaning that air and moisture can easily pass through,” Tasting Table explains. “Eggs are capable of absorbing odor through the pores in the shells,” Baker adds. The open door tray has no lid, while “the cardboard absorbs external odors” from garlic, onions and other strong foods.
Herve Guillard of the Institute of Culinary Education points out two more issues in Hunker: few people wash those built-in trays, and a cracked egg can leave bacteria behind. Exposure in the door can also make egg whites thinner. And the carton carries the date, which is easy to lose once the eggs are loose.
The tip is trending in South Korea too, where Ardent News told readers not to throw away the paper carton but to cut it to size and keep the eggs in it in the fridge, since it cushions shocks and buffers temperature swings.
Where they should go
Clemson’s Home & Garden Information Center sums it up: keep eggs “in the grocery carton in the coldest part of the refrigerator, not in the door,” at “40 °F or slightly below,” and “use raw shell eggs within three to five weeks.” Tasting Table suggests the main body of the fridge, toward the back.
Two more rules from the same sources: don’t wash eggs, since it can remove the protective coating applied at the plant, and don’t leave refrigerated eggs out for more than two hours.
The limit
None of these sources gives a figure for how much the door actually warms up; it depends on the fridge and how often it’s opened. The shelf-life advice also varies: Clemson says three to five weeks, while Tasting Table, citing the FDA, says three weeks from purchase. If you do toss the carton, write the date down.
A fridge that runs too warm is a problem wherever the eggs sit, so check the one fridge setting technicians keep repeating and the paper test for your door seal. And for the shelves themselves, there’s the aluminum foil trick.
Carton closed, back of the shelf, door tray empty. That’s the trick.
