Homeware store The Range has been encouraging shoppers to clean up their kitchens for the new year. In a video shared on Instagram, it demonstrates how its trays and baskets can be used to neatly organise a packed fridge.
However, the reel, originally created by influencer @Squeakygemclean, has sparked fury amongst shoppers over one particularly controversial choice - where to store eggs. Several commenters weighed in on the decision to place half a dozen eggs in a plastic holder in the fridge door.
Many pointed out that it's not essential to store eggs in the fridge in the UK. One user felt so strongly they posted twice, "Eggs in (the) U.K. don't need (re)fridge(rating)", while another agreed, "Eggs don't belong in the fridge. Ask any keeper of hens."
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Others were more emphatic in their response. A commenter beseeched, "DON'T KEEP EGGS IN THE FRIDGE. It is recommended in the UK they are NOT refrigerated. Other countries (i.e. America) do, but it’s scientific-based evidence not to. It’s dangerous. Please, please. Don’t!!!!!"
While UK supermarkets keep eggs on the aisle, in the USA, eggs are stocked in fridges alongside dairy products. This is because American farmers wash eggs to prevent salmonella contamination in such a way that strips the shell of its outer layer, while Europeans take a different approach and favour vaccinating chickens.
Among several other criticisms of The Range fridge storage method, one Instagram user wrote, "Eggs do not need to be stored in the fridge for freshness. Also, if you fry them straight from the fridge, you're not likely to get a popped yolk."
Some people took exception to the egg's location in the fridge, commenting, "You shouldn't store eggs on the door of the fridge." Apparently, those who subscribe to anti-door rhetoric insist that the constant changes in temperature eggs experience in the door can actually make them go off quicker.
According to the British Egg Information Service, for optimum quality and safety, you should ensure your eggs are kept at a steady temperature below 20’C and avoid moving them too often between frigid and very warm temperatures.
The egg-experts say that a cool pantry that doesn’t heat up when the kitchen temperature rises is fine for storing eggs. However, a typical kitchen cupboard is more likely to fluctuate in temperature, so their advice is to store eggs in the fridge as it's a more stable environment.
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