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1 month agoExactly How Old Are Grocery Store Eggs, Anyway? - Tasting Table
Eggs can be sold up to 30 days after packing, and older eggs are suitable for certain recipes.
According to the Egg Safety Center, when kept cold at about 45 degrees Fahrenheit or below ( which most refrigerators are), fresh eggs stay safe for up to five weeks past the carton's "Julian date," which is the date it was packed. The "expiration" label marks peak quality rather than safety. Inside the shell, a natural protective layer and steady refrigeration keep bacteria at bay far longer than most people realize.
The FIFO acronym means "First In First Out," and if you've ever worked in a restaurant, the system is among the first things that trainers teach new hires. When restocking a pantry or fridge, the newer product is placed behind the existing, older items. This way, when an employee in a hurry reaches in to grab what they need, they will automatically be grabbing the item that needs to be used-up in the most timely fashion.
My in-laws are obscenely cheap and often keep food that has expired well beyond the "best by" date. I wouldn't care about this, except my kids go over there after school, and I never know how fresh the food they are being served is. We rely heavily on my in-laws to watch our kids during the school year while we are at work.