Smart Pantry · Guides
Can you eat eggs after the best before date?
A plain UK guide to the date on your eggs, where to keep them, and how to use them up before they're wasted.
The short answer
Yes, for a couple of days, if you cook them well. Eggs carry a best before date, not a use-by date, so the date is about quality. A day or two after it, use them where both the white and the yolk get cooked through: baking, a well-done omelette, hard-boiled eggs.
Past that, or if an egg is cracked or dirty, throw it away.
What the date on UK eggs means
The date stamped on the shell or the box is a best before date, and it can be no more than 28 days after the egg was laid. Eggs with the British Lion mark always have the date printed on the shell, so you can still check it once the box has gone.
Best before means the egg is at its best until then. It doesn't suddenly become unsafe the next morning, which is why the Food Standards Agency says you can still use eggs for a couple of days after the date, as long as they are cooked thoroughly.
Close to the date is actually the best time for some jobs. Slightly older eggs are easier to peel once hard-boiled.
Does the float test work?
Not as a safety check. An egg floats because air gets in as it ages, so the float test only tells you roughly how old the egg is. It can't tell you whether bacteria have grown inside it. Go by the date instead.
Should eggs go in the fridge?
Ideally, yes. What eggs need most is a steady, cool temperature, below 20°C. A kitchen warms up and cools down through the day, so the fridge is the best place at home.
The thing to avoid is moving eggs between warm and cold. That makes condensation on the shell, and moisture helps Salmonella get through the shell into the egg. Shops don't refrigerate eggs for the same reason: it stops them going from a cold shelf into a warm car.
A few more tips:
- Keep them in their box. Shells are porous and pick up smells from food around them.
- Keep them away from raw meat.
- Use them in date order if you take them out of the box.
- Take them out 30 minutes before cooking. A fridge-cold egg can crack in boiling water, and room-temperature eggs bake better.
Can you freeze eggs?
Yes, and it's the easiest way to save eggs you won't get through in time. Just never freeze them in their shells.
- Whole: crack them into a container, beat them, seal and freeze. Good for scrambled eggs and omelettes later.
- Separated: freeze yolks and whites in separate containers.
- Stop yolks going gluey: mix in half a teaspoon of sugar or a teaspoon of salt per egg (or per two yolks) before freezing, and write which on the label so you know whether it's for sweet or savoury cooking.
Label and date the container. Frozen egg keeps for up to six months.
Can you eat runny or raw eggs?
Yes, if they have the British Lion mark or come from the Laid in Britain scheme. That includes young children, pregnant people and older people, because of improved safety controls in UK egg production. The exception is anyone who is severely immunocompromised and on a medically supervised diet, such as after a transplant. Eggs past their best before date should always be cooked thoroughly, never eaten runny.
Why eggs get binned anyway
It's rarely about not knowing the rules. A box gets pushed to the back of the fridge door, a second box gets bought, and by the time anyone checks, the first one is a week past its date.
Smart Pantry keeps track of the date for you
Snap your supermarket receipt and your eggs go in with their date, along with the rest of the shop. Your kitchen is sorted by what needs eating first, and one reminder at 8am tells you when something is close, while there's still time to bake with it or freeze it.
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More guides: How long do potatoes last? · How long does cooked rice last? · How long does bread last? · Best before vs use-by
Sources: Food Standards Agency, Home food fact checker (Eggs section); British Egg Information Service, Egg storage and handling and Egg FAQs. Always follow the storage advice on the box. If you're unsure whether an egg is safe, don't eat it.