Is The Internal Appearance Of Eggs Related To Egg Safety?

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The Egg Safety Center represents commercial egg producers, which follow the FDA Egg Safety Rule and state/federal regulatory programs.

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Is the internal appearance of eggs related to egg safety?

Egg appearance is not usually related to food safety. Variation in color and appearance can be due to many factors: Blood or meat spot – Rupture of small blood vessel(s) in yolk at time of ovulation, or deposition of tissue during egg formation in the hen Cloudy egg white – Egg is extremely fresh Color of yolk – Influenced by pigments in feed in the hen’s diet Green ring on hard-cooked yolk – Result of overcooking egg, caused by sulfur and iron compound reactions on the yolk surface of the yolk

The colors below indicate spoiled eggs.  If you see any of these colors, discard the egg immediately. Off-color egg white, green or iridescent – Spoilage due to Pseudomonas bacteria, a very common type of bacteria that healthy people often carry without knowing it. This bacteria produces a greenish, fluorescent, water-soluble pigment in the egg white. If you come across an egg with an off-color egg white, discard it. Black or green spots inside the egg – Results of bacterial or fungal contamination of the egg. If you come across an egg with black or green spots inside the egg, discard it. An unpleasant odor in raw or cooked eggs indicates spoilage and should be discarded.

Never eat raw eggs and always cook eggs to the recommended temperature to ensure any harmful bacteria is destroyed.

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