- Eggshell cracks compromise the protective barrier against bacterial contamination, making cracked eggs potentially unsafe to eat, especially if they've sat on store shelves for days.
- Eggs cracked during purchase or transport home are likely safe if used immediately, but grocery store shelf-aged cracked eggs have likely accumulated dangerous pathogens on their shells.
- Cracked eggs must be thoroughly cooked—scrambled or fried until fully set to 165°F minimum—to eliminate bacteria and pathogens that runny yolks and whites cannot safely contain.
It’s probably happened to you: you open up a fresh carton of eggs from the supermarket, only to discover that one or more of them has a small but noticeable crack. If you were raised with a fierce no-waste mentality, throwing away what seems like an otherwise perfectly good egg can feel like a punishable crime—particularly when times are lean or egg prices are high (or, as is often the case, both). But that crack isn’t just a cosmetic issue: it could also very well mean that your egg is no longer safe to eat.
What does an eggshell actually do?
Let’s think about the shell for a second: when an egg is fertilized, the shell—a hard, porous outer covering made from calcium carbonate, protein, and other nutrients and minerals—keeps the developing embryo safe from physical damage as well as from bacterial contamination. When that shell is broken, it can no longer do that job. In an unfertilized egg, a cracked shell is still an issue: The yolk and egg can still become contaminated and sicken the person eating them.
Should you ever eat an egg with a crack in it?
This depends on when the egg actually cracked. A cracked egg that’s been sitting on the shelf of a grocery store for days or weeks is most likely contaminated, says Dr. Darin Detwiler, food scientist and professor emeritus of food policy. “There are pathogens on eggs—actually on the shells,” he explains. Those pathogens can easily be transferred from the shell to the egg inside.
Of course, checking your eggs before purchasing them is always good practice: Your eggs should be crack-free and clean, with no visible dirt. However, what should you do—nay, what can you do—if one of those eggs cracks on the way home, or even while you’re setting it down on the counter?
“It’s probably going to be fine,” says Detwiler. However, you should try to use that egg as soon as possible, he recommends, rather than storing it raw in the fridge.
What should and shouldn’t you make with cracked eggs?
The best way to cook already-cracked eggs, says Detwiler, is by scrambling or frying until they’re no longer runny. Runny whites and yolks pose more of a risk than fully cooked ones—even more so if they’ve been exposed to bacteria or other pathogens. The Egg Safety Center advises cooking cracked eggs to at least 165°F, which is significantly higher than the recommended temperature for regular eggs—at least 144°F for scrambled or fried.
