Eggs Expired: When You Can Still Eat the Eggs

If your chicken eggs have expired, this does not mean that you can no longer eat them. We will show you how to recognize spoiled eggs and when you can still eat the eggs.

Eggs expired: You can still eat them then

The best before date (MHD) for eggs in Germany is 28 days from the laying day. If your eggs are expired, you can still use them in most cases.

• So the MHD does not say when the eggs are spoiled.
• If the eggs are refrigerated from the second week after laying, the actual expiry date can be extended by about three to four weeks.
• However, we recommend that you only eat expired eggs within this period when they are heated. You can therefore use the eggs for cooking or baking without any problems.

How to properly test your breakfast eggs

Expired eggs don’t necessarily mean spoiled. Nevertheless, you should test the eggs first, otherwise a gastrointestinal infection can occur in an emergency.

• One possibility is the water test. To do this, place an egg in a bowl of water. If the egg sinks, you can easily eat it. If it floats to the surface of the water, it is rotten.
• If the egg stands up on the bottom of the shell, it should be used as soon as possible.
• You can also do the smell test. To do this, carefully crack an egg on a plate and smell it. Spoiled eggs usually have a very fishy or foul odor.
• The albumen in rotten eggs is much more liquid than in fresh ones. If the yolk is not held in the middle but slips to the side, this is an indication that the egg has spoiled.