# Boiled egg spoilage? Keep or discard? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 16, 2010, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiled-egg-spoilage-keep-or-discard/560891 "2010-11-16T18:50:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiled-egg-spoilage-keep-or-discard/560891/1 "2010-11-16T18:50:11Z")
I left a pan on boiled eggs, with the heat turned off and still in the shell, on the stove top all night. Would you eat them? My thoughts: eggs are cheap, salmonella hurts and missing work is expensive - chuck them. Agree? ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiled-egg-spoilage-keep-or-discard/560891/2 "2010-11-16T18:58:14Z")
It’s a wonder we haven’t killed off half the children in this country by letting them eat Easter eggs. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiled-egg-spoilage-keep-or-discard/560891/3 "2010-11-16T19:15:19Z")
If they are hard boiled eggs they would presumably have been more or less sterilized by being hard boiled. I guess germs could still get through the shell, but if they were kept clean I have difficulty seeing any risk overnight. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiled-egg-spoilage-keep-or-discard/560891/4 "2010-11-16T19:19:09Z")
I understand it’s common in Europe to keep raw eggs at room temperature. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiled-egg-spoilage-keep-or-discard/560891/5 "2010-11-16T19:21:53Z")
I have done that before and eaten them, but if you don’t need them right away based on the $2.50 cost of a dozen eggs I would also see no issue with tossing them. ---
**Author:** ![Art\_Rock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/art_rock/32/525_2.png) [@Art\_Rock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Art_Rock)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiled-egg-spoilage-keep-or-discard/560891/6 "2010-11-16T19:21:58Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > I understand it’s common in Europe to keep raw eggs at room temperature. Not in this part of Europe. Chuck it. I got foodpoisoning from spoiled boiled eggs a few weeks ago. ---
**Author:** ![Tequila\_Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/41988e/32.png) [@Tequila\_Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tequila_Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiled-egg-spoilage-keep-or-discard/560891/7 "2010-11-16T19:26:45Z")
I’d probably just eat them myself, but the [CDC](http://www.cdc.gov/Features/SalmonellaEggs/) recommends you toss them if they haven’t been refrigerated within 2 hours of boiling. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiled-egg-spoilage-keep-or-discard/560891/8 "2010-11-16T19:26:49Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > I understand it’s common in Europe to keep raw eggs at room temperature. Yup, eggs are stored at room temperature in supermarkets in the UK. And similarly when they get home. They usually have a “best before” date of around two weeks from purchase. A hard-boiled egg, after one night at room temperature, would be even less likely to poison someone, and therefore something I would have almost total faith in, and happily eat. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiled-egg-spoilage-keep-or-discard/560891/9 "2010-11-16T19:29:48Z")
I think I’m going to keep them and eat them over a couple of days. If it matters though, the carton expires on the 20th. ---
**Author:** ![Art\_Rock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/art_rock/32/525_2.png) [@Art\_Rock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Art_Rock)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiled-egg-spoilage-keep-or-discard/560891/10 "2010-11-16T19:38:52Z")
> [@Art\_Rock](#): > > Not in this part of Europe. :smack: I read that as eating instead of storing. Brainfart. Advise on throwing away is still OK though. ---
**Author:** ![gurujulp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ba9def/32.png) [@gurujulp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gurujulp)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiled-egg-spoilage-keep-or-discard/560891/11 "2010-11-16T19:42:36Z")
I don’t get it- they get boiled to keep them from spoiling… Why would you ever NOT eat them, unless they are actually rotten, which takes about three weeks unstored to start, and only then if the shell is cracked… This thread seems to be comprable to: I have a jar of preserves that I boiled last night to finish the sealing process, and then didn’t put it in the fridge, where it doesn’t need to go- Is it still safe to eat the preservatives, or do you think that the preserving process somehow failed, and I shouldn’t eat them, even though they were just preserved yesterday by a method used to preserve them to be safe to eat without refridgeration? eta:really- am I missing something? ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiled-egg-spoilage-keep-or-discard/560891/12 "2010-11-16T19:50:44Z")
I’d eat them. I wouldn’t do it if I were I were a child, old, or immuno-compromised, but as is, I would eat them. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiled-egg-spoilage-keep-or-discard/560891/13 "2010-11-16T19:56:49Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > I understand it’s common in Europe to keep raw eggs at room temperature. I’m in the US. We have hens and keep our eggs at room temp. I have forgotten about eggs just like the OP and have eaten them. Never had ill effects. ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiled-egg-spoilage-keep-or-discard/560891/14 "2010-11-16T20:01:54Z")
I have hens, too. The reason raw eggs can be kept at room temperature is two-fold: 1. Eggs have a natural coating that prevents microbes from penetrating the shell. An unwashed egg can be safely kept at room temperature for about a month. Typical eggs from a US supermarket have been washed, which removes that coating, so those eggs require refrigeration. 2. Eggs at a supermarket also have been collected, sorted and shipped across the country before they even get to the store. The ones you buy could be a month old at the time you purchase them. Refrigerating them keeps them usable longer. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiled-egg-spoilage-keep-or-discard/560891/15 "2010-11-16T20:11:43Z")
It can take 28 days from the time a fertilized egg is dropped to the time it hatches. For 21 days it incubates at 99 degrees. And you are worried about about overnight storage of a boiled egg ? ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiled-egg-spoilage-keep-or-discard/560891/16 "2010-11-16T21:16:49Z")
I confess I did the same thing recently. I put the eggs into the fridge the next morning fully intending to eat them, but somehow I could never quite find them appetizing enough to take the risk. For anyone who has ever had food poisoning, the risk/benefit ration just doesn’t even out until they’re the last food you’ve got, and you haven’t eaten all day. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiled-egg-spoilage-keep-or-discard/560891/17 "2010-11-16T21:40:38Z")
> [@Art\_Rock](#): > > :smack: > > I read that as eating instead of storing. Brainfart. > > Advise on throwing away is still OK though. What do you mean? You don’t eat eggs at room temperature in your part of Europe ? ---
**Author:** ![Chum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3ab097/32.png) [@Chum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chum)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiled-egg-spoilage-keep-or-discard/560891/18 "2010-11-16T22:03:48Z")
I would eat them. I don’t think I’d even think twice. ---
**Author:** ![Dusty\_Rose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ba8739/32.png) [@Dusty\_Rose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dusty_Rose)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiled-egg-spoilage-keep-or-discard/560891/19 "2010-11-16T23:16:59Z")
I’d throw them out, but mainly because I’d be afraid they’d be overcooked. I hate when the yolks turn green. This reminds me of something my ex-monster-in-law said. I was at their house for Easter and found out that they boiled/decorated the eggs earlier in the week, but hadn’t refrigerated them. I was really surprised, but she said it was ok, because they were _Easter Eggs_. I still thought they should have been refrigerated, and she just kept saying “but they’re _EASTER_ eggs!” I don’t know. As if the fact that she made them for _Easter_ gave them some magical protection. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Art\_Rock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/art_rock/32/525_2.png) [@Art\_Rock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Art_Rock)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiled-egg-spoilage-keep-or-discard/560891/20 "2010-11-17T06:32:01Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#): > > What do you mean? You don’t eat eggs at room temperature in your part of Europe ? We were talking raw eggs. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiled-egg-spoilage-keep-or-discard/560891.md?page=2)