Eggs in US are refrigerated because they are washed, and they spoil quickly once washed. They are washed as a convenience to consumers, who otherwise would have to thoroughly wash the eggs before cracking the shells.
Eggs in US are refrigerated because they are washed, and they spoil quickly once washed. They are washed as a convenience to consumers, who otherwise would have to thoroughly wash the eggs before cracking the shells.
Washed to reduce risk of residual bacterial contamination from the chicken (and handling/contact after laying). I don't think consumers of unwashed eggs wash them before hand since they're going to discard the shell and cook the egg, but in theory, they should wash their hands after cracking them and before touching any more food that isn't going to be cooked.
Also safer to eat raw if they were washed.
Taiwan study: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S09567...
US study: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15553650/
But some older US studies from late 60s early 70s found no difference between the two (but maybe washing was different then):
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/5774767/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8561600/
I've never washed an egg in my life and don't worry about food poisoning from this. The risk of the food part getting contaminated in the brief moment when the shell is broken seems vanishingly low. I think it has more to do with people not liking that there's occasionally a feather or speck of sawdust or chicken poop on the outside of the shell.