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How long does it take an egg to get from farm to plate?

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  • 18-09-2015 7:56am
    #1
    Qualitymark
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,824 ✭✭✭


    When your hen lays an egg, and you gather it up and it's boxed and sent out to Lidl or Supervalu and bought by the consumer - how long does that take?


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    #2
    kay 9
    Registered Users Posts: 2,668 ✭✭✭kay 9


    I'd take a guess at 3 days. Milk takes five days I remember reading somewhere.


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    #3
    Qualitymark
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,824 ✭✭✭Qualitymark


    Anyone studied the exact figures?

    And that three days - presumably the eggs aren't sent from the farm every day? Or are they?


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    #4
    vicwatson
    Registered Users Posts: 28,403 ✭✭✭✭vicwatson


    Surely its impossible to know how long its takes a consumer to use it I.e. to get it on the plate?


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    #5
    Qualitymark
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,824 ✭✭✭Qualitymark


    vicwatson wrote: »
    Surely its impossible to know how long its takes a consumer to use it I.e. to get it on the plate?

    Well, yes. I was thinking more of chook to checkout.


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    #6
    ABlur
    Registered Users Posts: 817 ✭✭✭ABlur


    Eggs must be packed within 10 days of laying. They all have a 28 day shelf life from date of lay. The shops will take any eggs within 1 week of this expiry date off the shelves. They probably end up in the fried egg for the breakfast roll!


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    #7
    Qualitymark
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,824 ✭✭✭Qualitymark


    Sooo packed within 10 days, and then how long would the shop have them? (I should go back to keeping a few hens…)


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    #8
    ABlur
    Registered Users Posts: 817 ✭✭✭ABlur


    Qualitymark wrote: »
    Sooo packed within 10 days, and then how long would the shop have them? (I should go back to keeping a few hens…)



    Two weeks maybe they take them off display 1 week prior to expiry date.


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    #9
    rubadub
    Registered Users Posts: 32,379 ✭✭✭✭rubadub


    ABlur wrote: »
    The shops will take any eggs within 1 week of this expiry date off the shelves.
    I wondered why I never saw eggs being sold off in tesco nearing their BB dates.

    In dealz they now sell eggs, they had huge amounts and I overheard the workers saying they had to remove loads of them even though they were still within date, i.e. they were less than a week as you say.


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    #10
    Qualitymark
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,824 ✭✭✭Qualitymark


    I'd prefer if you'd just drop a nice little hen on her nest on my doorstep every day, and pick her up in the evening, thanks.


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    #11
    gazahayes
    Registered Users Posts: 451 ✭✭gazahayes


    Was talking to a local man here that used to have a good few hens they used to send them to be graded and packed once a week then bring them back and distribute them. Until they found they could buy them in for cheaper and just distribute them then.


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    #12
    Qualitymark
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,824 ✭✭✭Qualitymark


    gazahayes wrote: »
    Was talking to a local man here that used to have a good few hens they used to send them to be graded and packed once a week then bring them back and distribute them. Until they found they could buy them in for cheaper and just distribute them then.

    :eek:


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    #13
    Reggie.
    Registered Users Posts: 24,388 ✭✭✭✭Reggie.


    gazahayes wrote: »
    Was talking to a local man here that used to have a good few hens they used to send them to be graded and packed once a week then bring them back and distribute them. Until they found they could buy them in for cheaper and just distribute them then.

    Yeah something wrong there


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    #14
    ford2600
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,457 ✭✭✭ford2600


    Good eggs are easy enough to get.

    In West Waterford alone there are two large free range operations I know of. The Power man (boxes are a bright yellow) gets eggs to market really quickly. They are really excellent and fresh.


    As eggs last though, what is your worry OP?


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    #15
    arctictree
    Registered Users Posts: 4,299 ✭✭✭arctictree


    Fresh eggs are very hard to peel when hard boiled. 5 days old is about right.

    Our dog has learned to go into the hen house and take freshly laid eggs off the nest. Problem is that he just heads off and eats them! I wonder could he be trained to pack them in a box!


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    #16
    Startagain2010
    Registered Users Posts: 23 ✭Startagain2010


    Where I live in the Middle East, some eggs have a 3 month expiry date! I'm serious! How can that be ?


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    #17
    Qualitymark
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,824 ✭✭✭Qualitymark


    arctictree wrote: »
    Fresh eggs are very hard to peel when hard boiled. 5 days old is about right.

    Boil them in salty water then drop them in fresh cold water, then peel.


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    #18
    Base price
    Registered Users Posts: 11,186 ✭✭✭✭Base price


    A handy tip for checking how fresh eggs are http://ni.lovefoodhatewaste.com/node/444


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    #19
    whelan2
    Registered Users Posts: 29,260 ✭✭✭✭whelan2


    gazahayes wrote: »
    Was talking to a local man here that used to have a good few hens they used to send them to be graded and packed once a week then bring them back and distribute them. Until they found they could buy them in for cheaper and just distribute them then.
    worked on a few poultry farms, theres feck all to grading them really and after a while you get very quick at packing them.


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    #20
    blue5000
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 12,635 Mod ✭✭✭✭blue5000


    Was talking to an egg producer last yr and he said one of the worst things you can do is put an egg in a fridge. Moving it from warm to cold and out again really shortens the shelf life, I think it's something to do with the porosity of the shell.

    If the seat's wet, sit on yer hat, a cool head is better than a wet ar5e.



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    #21
    Base price
    Registered Users Posts: 11,186 ✭✭✭✭Base price


    blue5000 wrote: »
    Was talking to an egg producer last yr and he said one of the worst things you can do is put an egg in a fridge. Moving it from warm to cold and out again really shortens the shelf life, I think it's something to do with the porosity of the shell.
    Dries them out as far as I know.
    Also if you rear hens never put hatching eggs into the fridge as it effects their fertility.


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    #22
    my3cents
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,764 ✭✭✭my3cents


    Startagain2010 wrote: »
    Where I live in the Middle East, some eggs have a 3 month expiry date! I'm serious! How can that be ?

    Because eggs will last that time no problem. Its just in the west we are far more fussy about what we eat.


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    #23
    yellowlabrador
    Registered Users Posts: 1,189 ✭✭✭yellowlabrador


    Startagain2010 wrote: »
    Where I live in the Middle East, some eggs have a 3 month expiry date! I'm serious! How can that be ?

    I used to live in Abu Dhabi 30 years ago, I still remember the horrible aftertaste. They used to feed the chickens with fish.Yuk:eek:


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    #24
    rubadub
    Registered Users Posts: 32,379 ✭✭✭✭rubadub


    blue5000 wrote: »
    Was talking to an egg producer last yr and he said one of the worst things you can do is put an egg in a fridge. Moving it from warm to cold and out again really shortens the shelf life
    I think it could be condensation, similar to repeated freeze/thaw cycles of food. I put eggs in the fridge all the time and have no issue, not sure why you would put them in and back out again. I put them in and then use them, no cycling.
    Base price wrote: »
    Dries them out as far as I know.
    Fridges will dry out all foods, simply put them in airtight containers to stop it.


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    #25
    Qualitymark
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,824 ✭✭✭Qualitymark


    Why the US chills eggs and rest of world doesn't

    http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/09/11/336330502/why-the-u-s-chills-its-eggs-and-most-of-the-world-doesnt


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    #26
    ganmo
    Registered Users Posts: 7,748 ✭✭✭ganmo


    Qualitymark wrote: »
    Why the US chills eggs and rest of world doesn't

    http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/09/11/336330502/why-the-u-s-chills-its-eggs-and-most-of-the-world-doesnt

    They also don't like brown eggs
    ...decking racists


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    #27
    Qualitymark
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,824 ✭✭✭Qualitymark


    ganmo wrote: »
    They also don't like brown eggs
    ...decking racists

    Got a lift from a friend to pick up some ferrets recently and when we were offered… well, I scrounged shamelessly, really… some eggs he jibbed at the blue ones. Doesn't really go for eggs anyway he said.

    After he ate them, he'd changed his mind. These fresh-laid eggs were a whole new experience for him. Taste and texture were quite different from anything he'd had.


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    #28
    whelan2
    Registered Users Posts: 29,260 ✭✭✭✭whelan2


    Qualitymark wrote: »
    Got a lift from a friend to pick up some ferrets recently and when we were offered… well, I scrounged shamelessly, really… some eggs he jibbed at the blue ones. Doesn't really go for eggs anyway he said.

    After he ate them, he'd changed his mind. These fresh-laid eggs were a whole new experience for him. Taste and texture were quite different from anything he'd had.
    was making a big bowl of scrambled eggs last week, used 12 eggs, used a pack from tesco and a pack from aldi. There was a big difference between the 2 eggs, the tesco shells were alot harder and the yolks were a different colour. Alot depends on what the hens are fed.


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    #29
    Qualitymark
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,824 ✭✭✭Qualitymark


    whelan2 wrote: »
    Alot depends on what the hens are fed.

    And even how happy they are. Contented, un-stressed hens living in a small flock in a secure situation are very different from hens with no real 'society' in a huge shed full of constantly noisy hens.


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    #30
    CloughCasey1
    Registered Users Posts: 2,741 ✭✭✭CloughCasey1


    Qualitymark wrote: »
    And even how happy they are. Contented, un-stressed hens living in a small flock in a secure situation are very different from hens with no real 'society' in a huge shed full of constantly noisy hens.

    I think you have a quare gra for eggs QM.;-)


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    #31
    whelan2
    Registered Users Posts: 29,260 ✭✭✭✭whelan2


    Qualitymark wrote: »
    And even how happy they are. Contented, un-stressed hens living in a small flock in a secure situation are very different from hens with no real 'society' in a huge shed full of constantly noisy hens.
    I suppose in fairness the battery hens know no different


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