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Original poster

Caged eggs

54 replies

GuerlainHo · 07/09/2022 14:35

I usually always buy free range eggs (I know a lot of people say there is really NO difference between caged/ organic/ free range) but as I was abit strapped for cash; I ended up buying a pack of caged eggs last week.
So far, the eggs I have eaten have either given me a very upset stomach or even if I feel ok- the eggs smell really raw? And my burps seem extremely eggy. Don’t know how else to describe it.
Im wondering if maybe I’ve stored them wrong? I picked them up in sainsburys from the shelf (not from the fridge) but I’m wondering how others usually store caged eggs? Should I be refrigerating them, and is this why my stomach seems to disagree with them? I eat eggs very often so don’t think it’s an intolerance. Thanks

OP posts:
Creepymanonagoatfarm · 07/09/2022 15:44

Karma op!!.
Though what I have read about free range is somewhat misleading.. Just because hens have access to outdoors doesn't always mean they go outside
.

limitedperiodonly · 07/09/2022 15:45

@GuerlainHo there's a reason people talk about "rotten egg" smell. It's unbelievable. It would make you gag and you might even be sick. It's quite unusual to get it now most people buy their eggs from supermarkets.

It's possible you have a batch that smell or taste funny because they are going off but more likely because of what the hens have eaten.

It might be too late now but I would definitely take them back to Sainsbury's if you can. It's no quibble as long as you have a branded pack, a receipt or even just a carrier bag. I am a taker-backer. I was taught by my mum 😁

Never refrigerate eggs. Just keep them at room temperature in their box in the cupboard. I got a twee little cast iron egg stand for a wedding present so I write the date on the shells with a pencil. Do not ever wash the shells. They are semi-permeable so liquid and air gets in and also gets out - you'll notice with older eggs the delicate membrane at the pointy end shrinks as the air gets out. They have less fluid inside them and sometimes the yolk might even stick to the inside of the shell.But it won't be bad unless it stinks. If there is any poo scrape it and crack on the other side.

Those are my egg tips 😀

Original poster
GuerlainHo · 07/09/2022 15:47

@limitedperiodonly

thank you. I think it may have been a bad batch and I think from now on I’ll stick to my free range 😁

OP posts:

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General food
crosbystillsandmash · 07/09/2022 15:48

To echo others, I'd chose no eggs over caged eggs!

Original poster
GuerlainHo · 07/09/2022 15:50

@crosbystillsandmash

Im usually the same but with increasing prices I had to buy caged this time. First time for everything they say. And certainly my last

OP posts:
Orangesare · 07/09/2022 15:50

A number of possibilities

  1. If the eggs were dirty they wash them. Eggs shouldn’t be washed because they are more likely to go off
  2. it could be physosomatic (sp)
  3. Eggs could have absorbed some smell/taste in storage
  4. the feed. Pellet food is for optimal growth/egg production not for taste flavour. Free range or barn eggs (loose in a large barn) will also get grains

caged eggs from a food safety pov are fine but I don’t like them from a welfare pov.
i keep hens not free range but in large runs and they eat a few pellets for nutrients but also corn, oats and an amazing array of fruit and veg.

MarshaMelrose · 07/09/2022 15:50

@limitedperiodonly As you seem to be an egg aficionado, 🙂, can you tell me why we shouldn't put them in a refrigerator? I had heard this before so I don't but my sister refrigerates everything. It drives me nuts. I'd love to have an actual scientific reason to tell her she's wrong. (I love telling her she's wrong. It was one of my greatest joys. 🤭 )

Pixiedust1234 · 07/09/2022 15:57

Eggs don't need to be refrigerated but they do need somewhere cool. They used to be stored on the stone slab in larders, with the butter and milk.

Sounds like they weren't stored at the correct temperature, either in store or in transit. We've had hot weather too, just to add to the mix. If you can take them back.

gamerchick · 07/09/2022 16:02

GuerlainHo · 07/09/2022 15:27

@limitedperiodonly

The thing is; they do smell weird when I crack them. Really eggy and raw if that makes sense; but as they were only bought a few days ago and have over a week until they ‘expire’- I assume they must be fine.

I haven’t cracked open a rotten egg before so I’m unsure what they smell like but I know these ones smell very raw. Not like the free range ones I usually buy. Hence why I’m questioning if this is normal for caged eggs and if I should be keeping them in the fridge.

Would you eat anything else that didn't smell right just because they were 'in date' out of interest?

MarshaMelrose · 07/09/2022 16:02

There's a private members bill going through Parliament at the moment, passed unopposed at introduction, gets its second reading on 22 October.
The old cages have been banned for a while but they still allow "enriched cages". The abolition is in the Conservative manifesto so hopefully Liz,Truss will honour that and allow it to go through. I think all supermarkets have a commitment to stop selling caged eggs by 2025. Many like morrisons, m&s, the co-op have already stopped. That's through people power. Shows what customers can do.

Unforgettablefire · 07/09/2022 16:05

ProperSorryFrown · 07/09/2022 14:56

Free range chickens are still slaughtered alongside caged hens at 72 weeks.

Male chicks in both camps are thrown alive into a blender. (Macerator)

Both free range and barn kept hens are not given food or water for at least 24 hours before slaughter. They arrive hungry,thirsty and frightened.

I used to work in a processing plant. We would slaughter 10,000 chickens every hour. Hand on heart, not much difference I'm afraid.

Omg you're joking! I buy free range (the foxes get them all)
This has knocked me sick where can you buy eggs without cruelty ?

ClumpingBambooIsALie · 07/09/2022 16:05

Jesus. I was on your side, supporting you in your absolute right to make your own judgement about some eggs that don't seem right to you, and you call me snarky? How would you deal with actual snarkiness?

limitedperiodonly · 07/09/2022 16:07

@MarshaMelrose I know that feeling. Sadly I can't tell you it's harmful to refrigerate eggs unless you're a baker. Fridge temperature eggs can really bugger up your cake so I hope she's a GBBO fan and then you could eat a slice and say: "Did you keep the eggs in the fridge? Hmm, I thought so."

Room temperature eggs are fine just like room temperature vinegar and ketchup and Branston pickle and Thai fish sauce and all the other things people cram in the fridge.

Original poster
GuerlainHo · 07/09/2022 16:14

@gamerchick

Yes I would if I haven’t tried that said type of food before; and usually best before dates are a good indication of freshness.
If I usually buy free range eggs and they smell eggy and buy a pack of caged eggs that smell eggy but different to the eggs I usually buy (you know because they are different) then absolutely I would be eating them and making my judgement based on how they taste.

why do you ask?

OP posts:
Original poster
GuerlainHo · 07/09/2022 16:16

@gamerchick If I buy wine from Tesco every week and decided this week I wanted to buy a cheaper bottle from aldi and it smelled different but gave every indication of being fresh - i would be making the assumption it smells different because it’s obviously a different product.

Hence the question. Not sure why some people have to turn simple questions into debates on this site

OP posts:
limitedperiodonly · 07/09/2022 16:22

@GuerlainHo higher welfare vs lower welfare food is a hot button topic on Mumsnet as you have probably discovered by now. Go back to your usual type of eggs and forget about it. But I would take them back if I was you 🙂

Original poster
GuerlainHo · 07/09/2022 16:24

limitedperiodonly · 07/09/2022 16:22

@GuerlainHo higher welfare vs lower welfare food is a hot button topic on Mumsnet as you have probably discovered by now. Go back to your usual type of eggs and forget about it. But I would take them back if I was you 🙂

Thank you Darling, and I will be making sure I only be free range or organic from now on.

OP posts:
Crazykatie · 07/09/2022 16:27

I’m surprised there were cage eggs in the supermarket they are usually used by caterers, I buy cheap free range £1 for 6, yolks are lighter but some branded eggs are over twice the price. However eggs are produced they will pick up a taint from any strong ingredient in the food.
Storing eggs, in the fridge is best they stay fresh longer.

ProperSorryFrown · 07/09/2022 16:29

unforgettablefire unfortunately there is always a victim when it comes to the meat and dairy industry. You can only do your best though.

NinHuguenAndTheHuguenNotes · 07/09/2022 16:32

This has been an education for me. I didn't realise anyone chose free range eggs over caged eggs for the taste. I always saw that as a sort of Brucie bonus on top of the actual welfare of the chickens (which I realise still ain't perfect anyway).

iwannabea · 07/09/2022 16:34

“my raw eggs smell like raw eggs!” shocker

MarshaMelrose · 07/09/2022 16:42

Oh, you've let me down @limitedperiodonly. Let me down badly. 😔 She always thinks she's right, and she just isn't. I have to keep proving her wrong to keep her in check! It's for the good of humanity. 😁 A cheeky crack about her cake should do it.
I do love her, though.

ClumpingBambooIsALie · 07/09/2022 16:47

GuerlainHo · 07/09/2022 15:40

@ClumpingBambooIsALie

I don’t recall mentioning I keep eating them so unsure why the snarky comment was made; I have eaten about 3 from the pack and first time they smelled odd but I wasn’t sick. I assumed this was because of the egg quality. Second time I’ve smelled the same smell and had a dodgy stomach and now I’m here asking for advice and chosen to throw them away.
My question is asking HOW PEOPLE STORE EGGS; not to debate about egg qualitY and I certainly don’t have the time to argue with you over eggs…

Toodles

Seriously. What I wrote, which was this:

If they were actually rotten you'd know about it. Once you smell it, you know very definitely that this is what's meant by a rotten egg.

But it's possible for there to be something else wrong with an egg or off about it, or just different, and if they don't smell right to you and you feel ill when you eat them then, unless you're totally skint, why keep eating them? Even if it's psychological, that doesn't make you feel any less ill.

is not remotely snarky or argumentative. You'd already told me personally using the @ function in a previous post that you'd thrown them away. I was backing you up, in the way that if a friend said to me "Whenever I go cycling I feel terrible afterwards so I've stopped going", I might say "Yeah, why keep going if it just makes you feel crappy?" It doesn't remotely mean I'm accusing you of continuing to eat the eggs.

You can take your weird assumptions of bad faith, inability to read tone, and passive-aggressive toodleses, and shove it.

gamerchick · 07/09/2022 16:53

GuerlainHo · 07/09/2022 16:16

@gamerchick If I buy wine from Tesco every week and decided this week I wanted to buy a cheaper bottle from aldi and it smelled different but gave every indication of being fresh - i would be making the assumption it smells different because it’s obviously a different product.

Hence the question. Not sure why some people have to turn simple questions into debates on this site

An egg is an egg. Meat is meat. There are different types of wine. Really weird comparison. If a food stuff smells wrong then don't eat it. It's 1+1 stuff.

Northe · 07/09/2022 16:54

I don't think there should be any difference....all winter this year and last due to restrictions all hens were indoors and enclosed due to avian flu. You must have a dodgy batch there or are being hypersensitive to something!