While most eggs are considered unsafe to eat when raw, there’s a scientifically interesting reason eggs are generally safe to eat raw in Japan.
Most eggs sold in American stores are pasteurized. It is most likely fine to eat raw eggs bought in America as well. You just need to avoid the unpasteurized ones which I have never seen sold in stores. I’m not saying they aren’t, I just don’t see them.
Ok, but the main reason I don’t eat raw eggs is because they’re not very appetizing.
Japan also has flavored eggs. The hens are fed a very specific diet to make their eggs smell and taste fruitier.
Source: https://japantoday.com/category/features/food/japan-has-eggs-that-smell-and-taste-like-yuzu-citrus-fruit-and-theyre-amazing
You can get pasteurized eggs, which will kill off bacteria in the egg. Does slightly affect consistency, though, so depends on what you’re using it for.
That is nice, but it is not the main reason for safer eggs in Japan compared to the States. The biggest difference is that eggs in Japan are usually not refrigerated either in transit, or the store, or even at home. There are a number of benefits from not refrigerating your eggs. They have longer shelf life. They never “sweat” on the outside of the shell, resulting in an environment for bacteria growth. They don’t take up space in your small Japanese fridge. But, if you buy eggs that are already refrigerated, you need to keep them refrigerated.
Commercial eggs in America must be refrigerated because the chickens are kept in unhealthy unsanitary conditions. The eggs are filthy and contaminated with salmonella (and other fatal bacteria), thus they must be washed to remove the salmonella. Washing the eggs removes a trans-membrane that normally protects the egg. As such the washed eggs must be refrigerated.
I have a small chicken farming operation (for our homestead) and we don’t need to refrigerate our eggs because they don’t need to be washed/refrigerated - our coop is properly cleaned and eggs are collected multiple times a day to ensure they stay clean.
Eggs are refrigerated in Japan all the time (edit: as in regularly not literally 100% of the time; bad word choice on my part). Source: years living in Japan and every supermarket I go to. There are always far more refrigerated than not.
I think (at least some) are refrigerated in route to stores during distribution, but I’m not sure on any numbers here
I’ve lived here for over a decade and I’ve seen them not refrigerated more often than not. But, it could also be where we tend to shop.
This is very true. I’m mostly shopping in Tokyo supermarkets.
Part of this is that, unlike in the USA, the rest of the world does not allow chickens to shit on the eggs, they do not have to be washed and the shell is not damaged, allowing them to be stored without refrigeration. Washed eggs have compromised shells and must be kept cold.
The rest of the world still suggests that you wash the eggs before use, as there can still be bacteria or other things on the shell that you don’t want inside the egg.
