New rules open up older eggs on the Christmas table

New rules open up older eggs on the Christmas table

Published: Less than 20 min ago

full screen Just in time for the food frenzy during Christmas and New Year, the rules for how old eggs grocery stores are allowed to sell are changing. Archive image. Photo: Janerik Henriksson/TT

New rules should reduce egg waste in grocery stores. The period for selling eggs is extended from 21 to 28 days after laying.

So count on older eggs on the upcoming Christmas table.

The best before date for eggs is already up to 28 days but the grocery stores have only been allowed to sell them for 21 days after laying.

Now that changes. The new rules, which came into force on Thursday, give the shops the opportunity to sell the eggs during the entire 28-day period. The hope is that the extra week will reduce wastage.

“These are EU rules that Sweden and the Swedish Food Agency have long worked to change. It makes a big difference when stores no longer have to throw away eggs that have a whole week left until the best-before date,” says Karin Fritz, advisor at the Swedish Food Agency, in a press release.

Eggs that are stored cold are also edible long after the best-before date has passed, points out the Swedish Food Agency. The best before date is set on the basis that the egg packaging is stored at room temperature. Raw eggs kept in the refrigerator at around 4 degrees can last for several more weeks.

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