General food safety information only, from university Extension food safety guides.
Hard-cooked eggs keep one week in the refrigerator.
Refrigerate hard-cooked eggs within 2 hours of cooking.
The one-week rule is the same whether the eggs are peeled or still in the shell, as long as they were properly refrigerated.
When shell eggs are hard cooked, the protective coating is washed away, leaving the pores in the shell open for bacteria to enter.
That is why cooked eggs spoil faster than raw ones.
Raw shell eggs keep 3 to 5 weeks in the refrigerator.
That is much longer than cooked ones.
Store eggs in the grocery carton, in the coldest part of the refrigerator — not in the door.
Keep the refrigerator at 40 °F or slightly below.
Do not wash eggs.
Washing could remove the protective mineral oil coating put on at the plant and could increase the chance of bacteria on the shell entering the egg.
Cooked eggs should not sit out at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
If the room is warmer than 90 °F, the limit is 1 hour.
Bacteria can multiply quickly in the 40–140 °F danger zone.
Leftover egg dishes should be used within 3 to 4 days.
Leftover egg yolks or whites should be used within 4 days.
After hard-cooking Easter eggs, dye them and return them to the refrigerator right away.
The total time for hiding and hunting should not exceed 2 hours.
Discard any eggs that cracked.
Eat hard-cooked eggs within one week.
Choose Grade A or AA eggs with clean, uncracked shells, from a refrigerated display.
Wash hands, utensils, equipment and work areas with warm, soapy water before and after contact with eggs.
Clemson University Extension HGIC, “Safe Handling of Eggs” (hgic.clemson.edu) — which presents USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service guidance; and Michigan State University Extension, “Playing it safe with eggs.”
General food safety information only, from university Extension food safety guides.