# My egg yolk was brownish: Was it safe to eat?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-egg-yolk-was-brownish-was-it-safe-to-eat/621882
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [May 14, 2012, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-egg-yolk-was-brownish-was-it-safe-to-eat/621882 "2012-05-14T13:47:34Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2012, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-egg-yolk-was-brownish-was-it-safe-to-eat/621882/1 "2012-05-14T13:47:34Z")
Nope, don’t need answer fast. I cracked open an egg this morning, and the yolk was not a solid yellow, but also had a fair amount of brownish color. Also, the yolk sac appeared to have degenerated becaue the yolk was completely runny from the get-go. I didn’t feel like rolling the dice on getting sick, so I just thre it away. Didn’t smell rotten, but maybe a slightly more ‘eggy.’
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### Author:  [@ExcitedIdiot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExcitedIdiot)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2012, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-egg-yolk-was-brownish-was-it-safe-to-eat/621882/2 "2012-05-14T15:27:40Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Blood Spots in Eggs
>
> These are small red to reddish brown spots found in or around the yolk. They are usually caused by one of the tiny blood vessels in the ovary breaking at the time when the yolk is released. Often people mistakenly think they indicate a fertile egg and it is the start of a chick forming.
>
> High levels of activity or disturbance, particularly at the time of ovulation are likely to increase the incidence of these blood spots.
>
> Because free range hens may eat grass which contains a substance called rutin that has the effect of stopping bleeding, free range hens eggs tend to have less blood spots than those from caged or battery kept birds.
[http://poultry.allotment.org.uk/advice/eggs/problems](http://poultry.allotment.org.uk/advice/eggs/problems)
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### Author:  [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2012, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-egg-yolk-was-brownish-was-it-safe-to-eat/621882/3 "2012-05-14T15:40:24Z")
Hmmm. . . Doesn’t say they’re bad, and it didn’t smell bad. Next time I will roll the dice. Thanks.
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### Author:  [@ExcitedIdiot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExcitedIdiot)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2012, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-egg-yolk-was-brownish-was-it-safe-to-eat/621882/4 "2012-05-14T15:52:19Z")
I’ve eaten eggs with spots in the yolks. They seemed to taste a little different, but that could be power of suggestion.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2012, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-egg-yolk-was-brownish-was-it-safe-to-eat/621882/5 "2012-05-14T18:00:36Z")
Eggs are good about letting you know when they’ve spoiled. If an egg is no good to eat, believe it, you’ll know. If you have to ask, it’s fine.
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### Author:  [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2012, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-egg-yolk-was-brownish-was-it-safe-to-eat/621882/6 "2012-05-14T18:41:38Z")
I’ve eaten eggs with blood streaks in them. I just made sure they were well-cooked. (Over Medium)
No problems.
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### Author:  [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2012, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-egg-yolk-was-brownish-was-it-safe-to-eat/621882/7 "2012-05-14T18:54:03Z")
I’m pretty sure eggs are more expensive in Canada than the US, but if I got a brown egg yolk I’d have no problem ditching the 20 cents and starting over.