What are the common misunderstandings about storing eggs?
This answer is a draft. It stays unpublished until legal review and source verification are complete.
Whether eggs belong in the fridge is handled very differently from country to country. Japan is one of the few places where eggs are routinely eaten raw — over rice, in sukiyaki, as a topping — and its date labelling is designed on that assumption. If you have just arrived, the date on a Japanese egg carton does not mean what it means at home.
How Japan's egg dates work
Following the 1999 (Heisei 11) revision of the enforcement regulations of the Food Sanitation Act (Japan's food-safety law), the best-before date on shell eggs shows the period in which the egg can be eaten raw without problems even if Salmonella happens to be present, assuming refrigerated storage at home (10°C or below).
The reasoning is that the iron Salmonella needs in order to multiply exists only in the yolk. The date is therefore calculated, using a formula relating days to temperature, from the period until the yolk membrane weakens with age and iron passes into the white. A 2024 document from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) gives the upper limit for raw consumption as 21 days from laying (including 7 days in the household fridge).
[Verify] The year the system was introduced and the 21-day ceiling are based on materials from an industry body (the Japan Poultry Association) and from MAFF. Check against the original texts before publication.
Misunderstanding 1｜The door pocket is where eggs go
The door changes temperature every time it is opened and closed. A place that stays steadily at 10°C or below is better suited.
Misunderstanding 2｜Wash eggs before storing them
Washing the shell can remove the film that protects it. Store them unwashed.
Misunderstanding 3｜Past the best-before date they are no good even cooked
The date is set on the basis of safety for eating raw. Even so, follow the label, and if anything at all seems wrong, do not eat it.
Misunderstanding 4｜Eggs anywhere can be eaten raw
The assumptions above are specific to how eggs are distributed in Japan. Do not handle eggs the same way abroad.
Misunderstanding 5｜Eggs can be stored after cracking
Once cracked, eggs spoil quickly. Use them up the same day.
---
Sources
- Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), information on hen eggs
https://www.maff.go.jp/j/chikusan/keiei/
- Japan Poultry Association, materials of the "Committee on the Revision of Egg Date Labelling" [鶏卵日付表示等改訂委員会] (March 2010)
https://www.jz-tamago.co.jp/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/E05_3_m_1.pdf
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, "Six points for preventing food poisoning at home" [家庭でできる食中毒予防の6つのポイント]
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/topics/bukyoku/iyaku/syoku-anzen/dl/pamph01_05.pdf
⚠️ Editorial note: the source URLs above were identified by search. Our working environment cannot reach go.jp domains, so the contents have not been checked against the text. Verify every source before publication and record who checked it and when.
About this article
What we share here are ideas and everyday practices passed down among people living in Japan, together with general information drawn from public sources. They are not official recommendations, and they are not professional instruction. Practices vary between households and regions.
This is general information. Results vary from person to person and depend on your own conditions and surroundings.
Please decide for yourself, using your own judgement, whether any of this suits your situation. We cannot accept responsibility for any damage, loss or injury arising from following this article.
Some ingredients need thorough cooking. Eat raw only foods that are sold for raw consumption. If you have allergies, check the ingredients.
Sources
Tell us if this has changed
Approved contributions keep the contributor's name, shown in five languages.
Related questions
Other languages：日本語 ／ 简体中文 ／ 繁體中文 ／ 한국어
Value Village is not a government body. Always confirm procedures on the official site.
Written by Value Village from public sources. Nothing here is reproduced from another site.