Ask Evan: Do I Need To Refrigerate Eggs When I Buy Them at the Farmers Market?

Every week I answer a question from a Good Food listener. You can email me a question, leave one on Facebook or add one in the comments section here. This week’s came from Facebook:

Do I Need To Refrigerate Eggs When I Buy Them at the Farmers Market?

Anyone answering this question with a liability issue will answer it only one way. Yes, refrigerate them. Bacteria, left at room temperature will multiply rapidly. Cold will slow bacterial growth down. This answer assumes there is the possibility of even a speck of bad bacteria in those eggs. Here are the egg safety procedures as outlined by the American Egg Board I’m sure many of us who travel have seen eggs for sale on store shelves rather than from a refrigerator. Perhaps we have even bought and used those. I notice that friends who keep chickens for their eggs, leave the eggs on the counter for a couple of days then if not used refrigerate them.