The Bottom Line
(If you've ever seen the deep, orangey yolks, you get it.) Of course, you may not have access to these. At the supermarket, your best bet is eggs that are stamped with both USDA Organic and a seal related to animal welfare—either Animal Welfare Approved or Certified Humane (more on those, below).
The confusion over egg carton labels lies with the U.S. government – specifically, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). There are currently no set requirements or definitions for egg carton labels, which means egg producers can pretty much put any phrasing they want on each carton.
Although the eggs are from free range hens temporarily housed for their welfare, they must be marked with a number 2 signifying that they come from hens kept inside barns eg 2UK54321.
On every egg you will find a red code, which tells you where it is from. The first number in the code is a 0, 1, 2 or 3, and it tells us which laying system the egg comes from. The letters stand for the country in which the eggs were laid.
This three-digit code indicates the date of packaging, starting with January 1 as 001 and ending with December 31 as 365. These numbers represent the consecutive days of the year. For example, an egg carton with a packaging date of 032, means the eggs were packed on February 1st.
No, it's not an arbitrary serial number; it's the Julian date, your fail-safe guide to fresh eggs. Ranging from 001 to 365, the Julian date represents the day the eggs were packaged. Each code corresponds to a day in the year, so 001 would be January 1 and 365 would represent December 31.
5. Plant Code on an Egg Carton. The last set of numbers on an egg carton refers to the plant code where the eggs were actually packed into the cartons. The plant code is a four-digit number usually starting with the letter P.
Three factors considered in judging egg quality by the yolk are ((1)1) size and shape of the yolk, (2)(2) distinctness of yolk shadow outline, and (3)(3) defects and germ development. in a fertile egg to a point where it is visible as definite lines or as a blood ring.
Organic: Eggs marked with the USDA's National Organic Program label come from uncaged hens that are free to roam in their houses and have access to the outdoors. The hens are fed an organic diet of feed produced without conventional pesticides or fertilizers.
In the fall of 2022, after many decades of contention, the FDA officially proposed a revision to requirements allowing certain foods and products to be labeled healthy. The most exciting change? The FDA now officially agrees: eggs are healthy.
The Egg Code. The basic data concerning concentrations, stages of development (age) and form (floe size) of ice are contained in a simple oval form. A maximum of three ice types is described within the oval. This oval and the coding associated with it, are referred to as the "Egg Code".
USDA Grade A
Like Grade AA, Grade A eggs must have clean, unbroken shells of normal shape. The air cell of a Grade A egg must not exceed 3/16-inch in depth. The whites should be clear and reasonably firm, so that the yolk is only fairly well defined. Finally, it must be practically free of any apparent defects.
USDA Grade AA – The freshest and highest quality eggs will receive a Grade AA. USDA Grade A – Very high quality eggs will receive a Grade A. USDA Grade B – Grade B eggs are usually used for breaking stock (liquid eggs) and baking, dependingon the number of defects.
The English word "dozen" comes from the French word "douzaine" meaning a group of twelve. The French word is a derivation of "duodĕcim", which is the Latin word for twelve. The modern egg carton wasn't invented until 1911 in Canada.
Cracking the code of egg labels
In other words, If you notice a '0', your egg comes from an organic farm. If you notice a '1', it comes from free-range farm. If you notice a '2', it comes from a deep litter poultry farming system while a '3' means that your egg comes from a battery farm.
Can I eat an egg with blood in it? Absolutely – eating an egg that has a blood spot won't hurt you. While you may wish to remove the spot with the tip of a knife and dispose of it, there is nothing in it that's harmful for human consumption.
We have had several eggs with a dark red yolk and those eggs are incredibly nutritious. These yolks come from chickens that are feeding on lots of dark red pepper or anatto seeds.
Black or green spots inside the egg may be the result of bacterial or fungal contamination of the egg. If you come across an egg with black or green spots discard the egg. Off color egg whites, such as green or iridescent colors may be from spoilage due to bacteria.
Stamping helps food safety authorities trace eggs back to the farm. It provides a safeguard in the event of a food poisoning incident or outbreak. Eggs can be stamped at the farm where they are produced or at a grading facility.
For example, a carton of eggs has 12 eggs. The actual value cannot be 11.8 eggs, since we count eggs in whole number quantities. So the 12 is an exact quantity.
All Class A eggs have to be marked with a code showing the type of farming system, country of origin and farm production unit.
The Julian date is the “pack date,” when the eggs were washed, graded and place in the carton. This three-digit code represents the consecutive day of the year, with January 1 as 001 and December 31 being 365.