Flightless Bird: Eggs

out what makes this country tick. Now they talk a lot about this country being the land

of the free, but wherever I look there are just rules that make no sense to me, and one

of them in particular has been puzzling me for about a year now. I think of it whenever

I open my fridge, whenever I go to make myself some breakfast, rustling around for my favourite

breakfast snack.

I love eggs. From my head down to my legs.

Heard the latest news about eggs and cholesterol? Write for our booklet Eggs and Good Health.

Ooh, you gotta love it. The Incredible Edible Egg.

Yes, the Incredible Edible Egg. We've got them in New Zealand as well, but in America

they come with a rule. A rule that's been troubling me for months. I look on the cardboard

carton of my organic large brown grade A eggs and there it is. Keep refrigerated at

or below 45 degrees Fahrenheit. Another month and a different brand of eggs, this time it's

Vital Farms Pasture Raised Eggs. And there on the carton, keep eggs refrigerated.

If you're an American hearing this you probably don't know what my problem is, but if you're

not in America you're probably as puzzled as I am. Why is everyone in America putting

their eggs in the fridge? Why is that valuable cold space being filled to the brim with eggs?

In New Zealand we put our eggs in the pantry, or the cupboard where you're meant to. No

one in their right mind is putting their eggs in the fridge. Fridge real estate is a valuable

commodity, why would it be wasted by filling it with a load of eggs?

I've finally decided that I need to get to the bottom of this mystery. So, grab your

nearest egg, crack it open, fling it into a pan and get frying. Because this is the

Egg Episode.

Flightless, flightless, flightless bird touchdown in America. I'm a flightless bird touchdown

in America.

Monica, where do you keep your eggs?

The refrigerator.

Rob, eggs?

Refrigerator.

Explain.

Because you don't want to get egg poisoned. It's as easy as that.

So you're taught as a child, how did you come by this information?

It's not even taught. When you go to the grocery store they're in the refrigerated section,

they're in a refrigerator.

Fridges have built-in shelves for eggs.

Good point, I've noticed this here as well. In New Zealand, I'm sure some fridges have

it, but generally we would never have a special built-in thing. It's so embedded in American

culture that this is where your eggs go. Whereas in New Zealand, we're not having it

straight in the pantry.

I will say, my friends Ryan and Amy have chickens who lay eggs and they do not put them in the

fridge.

Interesting.

When I went to Texas for Christmas, we stayed at a farm that had chickens and there was

just a basket on the counter that they'd give us eggs in the morning.

Okay, and pray tell, when you ate those eggs and when you've eaten your friend's eggs,

Monica, did you become sick? Did you become violently ill? Or was it okay that they weren't

in the fridge?

I didn't try them because they're obviously trying to egg poison me.

Yeah, we got violently ill. It was weird though. I said something to Natalie, I was like,

these should be in the fridge. What are they doing out here?

What do you think is going to happen?

I've heard this, okay? I've heard that it's not necessary 100% to put them in the fridge.

I think there is something about our pasteurization makes it so that we do have to, but maybe

in other countries they're not doing the same thing. I don't know.

Pasteurization, is that milk or everything?

I just don't know.

I was told from the Texans we were with that when they wash the eggs, that whole process

is why they have to go in the fridge because there's a membrane or something.

We get to this.

If you're getting them fresh from the chicken, that's still there. It's a little gunkier.

Well, this is all things we explore today and I'm thrilled to go through this with you.

Do we explore white eggs versus brown and that type of thing?

No, but I talked to an egg expert and he did tell me about this. This myth that people

think that brown eggs are more nutritious than a white egg. Nothing more nutritious about it.

Actually, I jotted down what he said. He said, there's this big misconception that if you

have a brown egg, it's got to be more nutritious. The reality is it's not. You've got to know

when you crack open that brown egg, look at the inside of the shell, it's going to be

white even if it's a brown egg. It all comes down to the bird.

Okay, so some birds are laying white eggs and some are laying brown eggs?

Absolutely, but if you look under the shell, it's basically every egg is exactly the same.

It's just a different layer. It doesn't change the nutritious factor of the egg.

That guy's racist and he just wants to take away any clout that the brown eggs have.

Yeah, well, I was curious because when I do end up talking to this egg expert, I was wondering...

Say it, say it.

Yeah, egg expert.

Yeah, there we go. There it is.

Is he in the pocket of big egg? Have they worked their way in there? Because I wondered

the whole time. I was actually quizzing him about it and he denied it. He said, no one's

paying me off to say any of these things. Because going into the supermarket, or what do you call it?

The grocery store, there are so many different sorts of eggs. Do you have a default one you'd go to?

Are you loyal to a brand? What do you look for when you're getting your eggs?

I'm loyal to Vital Farms.

What do you like about them?

They used to be a sponsor.

Okay, I like your honesty. That's great. I really appreciate that.

But they're not anymore and that is what I choose. They take care of the chickens and I feel better about their practices.

I always look for organic on the label. Jumbo is great. Are we going to talk about jumbo versus regular?

We don't get into the jumbo factor.

What do we get into?

Maybe we should start at the top. It's a complex investigation. Let's start it off.

Okay.

Come out in the middle and we'll talk about it a bit more. This goes fucking deep.

I had eggs this morning.

Oh, what sort?

Scrambled.

Oh, yum. I like to boil mine. Three minutes, yum yum.

Soft-boiled?

Soft-boiled, yeah. New Zealander.

It's difficult to know where to begin when embarking on an important investigation.

And it's difficult when no one besides you seems to be asking the question.

In this case, why do Americans put their eggs in the fridge?

First, I wanted to make sure that my theory was correct.

That putting your eggs in the fridge is a distinctly American thing not shared by the rest of the world.

Every story I heard from all around the planet went something like this.

I'm Elle. I live in Norwich in England and I keep my eggs in the pantry.

I'm from Mauritania in the Sahara Desert and we kept our eggs on the top of the fridge.

Not in the fridge. Outside. In the Sahara Desert.

So what are American eggs hiding?

My theory was correct. Putting your eggs in the fridge is very American.

But why? Why in the fridge?

Why in America does it go from the chicken's vagina into the human fridge?

To get an answer, I turned to the International Egg Commission.

Dedicated to the global egg industry, they have members spanning 80 different countries.

Based in London, I loaded up Skype and dialed in their number.

Good afternoon, International Egg Commission.

Oh hey, it's David Ferry speaking. How are you?

Just quickly, if you missed that, that's me doing an American accent.

Instead of just saying, how are you, I go, how are you?

I always do this on the phone because when I try and order things on the phone in America, no one understands me.

If I go, can I have one large pizza please? I get stunned silence.

But if I go, can I please have one large pizza please?

Then they know what I'm saying, even though I sound ridiculous.

Anyway, I end up doing this even when I'm not calling America.

Like in this case where I'm calling the International Egg Commission in London.

Hello, very well, thanks, you?

Hey good, I'm calling from a podcast in America called Flightless Bird.

And I'm trying to find someone to talk to to figure out why Americans put their eggs in the fridge.

I'm not sure we're the right people to speak to, but let me see if I can find out. Just a moment.

Thank you.

As I sit on hold, I try to imagine what the office of the International Egg Commission looks like.

I imagine a building shaped like a big egg.

And the reception desk is probably an egg shape too.

In the cafeteria, it's just eggs for as far as the eye can see.

After a few minutes on hold, and in my imagination, the operator is back.

Hello there, sorry to keep you.

I just needed to check because I wasn't sure how to answer the question.

What we would recommend, because we're actually a member organisation, we wouldn't be able to advise on that kind of thing.

We would suggest that you contact the American Egg Board.

So there's a board just for America?

Yes, yeah, we're the organisation that sort of pulls all of the international organisations together.

But yeah, the US do have their own. So yeah, American Egg Board are the people to contact.

Part of me was worried I was just being fobbed off.

That I was in a game of toss the egg, and I was the egg.

In case I was being tossed, I threw in a bonus question before I hung up.

Just really quickly, I'm from New Zealand originally, do you have outfits in New Zealand as well?

There'll be a country organisation in New Zealand, yeah, I'm fairly sure of that.

Wow, I guess eggs are international, aren't they?

They're very international, and some countries eat lots and lots. They consume a heck of a lot of eggs.

As I put the phone down, I wondered how many eggs different countries do eat.

According to the New Zealand Heart Foundation, back in New Zealand, we eat 237 eggs per person each year.

In America, it's a bit higher. Each person eats about 277 eggs per person.

An extra 40 eggs over New Zealand.

Of course, being in America, all those eggs would be stored in the fridge.

Frustrated by the International Egg Board having no answers, I did some googling about eggs.

I discovered that all American eggs, after being laid by a chicken, are thoroughly washed.

Which removes a natural layer surrounding the egg called the bloom.

A website called Backyard Poultry said that removing the bloom opens up the egg's pores.

Maybe getting rid of the layer means the egg is more open to the elements, and that's why it needs to be refrigerated.

Maybe I've found my answer using Google.

But I'm not going to trust a website. I needed the American Egg Board.

Good morning.

Oh, hey, it's David Farrier speaking. How are you?

Great, David, how are you doing?

We were both doing great. Which is often how everyone says they're doing when you ask.

But I suspect often people aren't telling the truth.

Regardless, the receptionist tells me that putting eggs in the fridge is a USDA requirement.

Something the United States Department of Agriculture simply demands you do.

But I ask why it's a requirement here, when it isn't in New Zealand.

And she tells me that the American Egg Board is under the guidance of the USDA,

so simply have to follow the rules they set down.

Frustrated I'm not getting anywhere, I state my theory.

Is it because in America the eggs are washed and so that kind of outside layer is taken off?

That's what someone told me the reason was.

She tells me that yes, all eggs are washed, and the refrigeration stops the growth of certain bacteria.

She says putting eggs in the fridge is an added layer of safety.

But then, devastating news.

I ask if I can quote her directly, put her on the record.

And she says no, I'd need to talk to the USDA.

Only the USDA can confirm why eggs need to go in the fridge, officially.

Which makes sense because they made the rule.

She tells me the USDA has a meat and poultry hotline, and gives me the number.

So far the International Egg Commission had fobbed me off to the American Egg Board,

who had now fobbed me off to the USDA.

I crossed my fingers.

Please press 1.

For information on food handling before and after a natural disaster, please press 2.

If you would like to speak with a food safety specialist, please press 3.

3.

An operator picks up, and I go into my now well-rehearsed spiel.

I'm just looking for someone I could talk to about the regulations around eggs in America.

Part of me assumes I've hit the jackpot with the USDA.

But then, disaster.

I'm told that shelled eggs are out of the USDA's jurisdiction.

I was told I'd have to head right to the top.

The FDA.

Oh, the FDA.

Yes.

The FDA.

The United States Food and Drug Administration.

Uh, the FDA.

I call the FDA.

If this is a life-threatening emergency, hang up and dial 911.

If you're a physician calling for an emergency IND, hang up and dial 855-543-3784

to report an emergency that involves food, drugs, medical devices.

Listening to this serious list of options,

part of me wonders if I should be bothering this government department

with my questions about why I'm putting my eggs in the fridge.

But this is where the path led, and I have to see where it ends.

For information about biological products, such as blood and plasma products,

vaccines, allergenic products, gene therapy, tissue and cellular-based therapies, press 1.

Of all the departments I'd call today, the FDA had the gnarliest set of options by far.

Eventually I found the one for me.

There is currently one call ahead of you.

All representatives are currently assisting other callers.

I waited, and I waited, and I waited.

Whoever that person was ahead of me, they had a lot on their mind.

I killed time by watching some videos on TikTok.

A boar came out of the woods and charged at some snowboarders at a resort in Yokojima.

Oh my goodness.

It ran at the second person who was able to use the board for some protection.

After that it ran off.

Staff at the nearby snowboarding shop originally posted the video.

Then suddenly, the FDA is on the line.

Thank you for calling the Food and Cosmetics Information Center.

What state are you calling from?

I'm calling from California.

And how can I help you today?

I go through to my little spiel, and the FDA tells me they don't know.

That's a direct quote.

They said I needed to talk to an agricultural extension program in my state.

I ask what that was, and I'm told I need to find a university in California that's publicly funded that can apparently answer questions like mine.

Before I go, I ask what the FDA even does if it can't answer my questions about putting eggs in the fridge.

I'm told the FDA regulates the farms that produce the eggs.

The FDA tells consumers that all Americans should buy their eggs refrigerated and keep them refrigerated at home.

But going on this phone call, they don't say why.

I ask if the FDA will arrest me if I don't follow this guideline.

And she says the FDA can only regulate the people who make the eggs and sell the eggs.

What I do with my eggs, once I've got them, is up to me.

But again, she recommends I put them in the fridge.

After hearing all this, I lie to her.

Okay, no, great, no, that's so helpful.

And hang up.

But inside, I'm absolutely fuming.

Absolutely fuming that the International Egg Board, the American Egg Board, the United States Department of Agriculture,

and the Food and Drug Administration can't officially tell me why they're telling me to put my eggs in the fridge.

I start trying universities, starting with Purdue University, which came up in the egg articles I read.

But Purdue told me that I needed to talk to the executive administrator of the Indiana State Egg Board.

I'd had it up to my eyeballs with egg boards, but I tried.

And the executive administrator for the Indiana Egg Board told me, and I quote,

not sure I'm the most qualified person to speak to your question.

They sent me back to Purdue University to someone who was called a poultry extension specialist.

Jackpot.

This must be the agricultural extension thing the FDA had told me about.

Fingers trembling, I called the number for the poultry extension specialist at Purdue University.

How are you feeling, Monica?

You're going to cliffhanger?

It's a cliffhanger.

Trying to build more cliffhangers into these episodes, you know, really keep people listening.

I like that.

I'm stressed out.

I've experienced this a few times before, where often the simplest questions are the most difficult ones to get answered.

Well, this, I mean, it's the American egg episode, but really it's the American red tape episode.

We're getting into that territory.

Yes.

And also another thing that I love about America, which is your answer phone messages.

Oh.

And look, again, we have this in New Zealand.

You get put on hold.

You have different options.

But the number of options in America just eclipses anything I've ever encountered before.

It's wild.

Wow.

I do want to say something really important about eggs, because you mentioned chicken vaginas.

I did.

And the appropriate word is vulva.

Oh.

Okay.

Chicken vulva.

Now, I have a personal.

You're about to say, I have a vagina.

I have a vulva.

Oh, I did it again.

I have a personal issue.

If I'm at a restaurant, I cannot order any food that has eggs and chicken.

Oh.

Because it's the chicken's period.

This is.

And it's too much crossover and it makes me feel sick to think about.

So, this is something that might make you feel nauseous.

But I, in New Zealand, I had a parrot, my best friend for a while called Keith.

Yeah.

And Keith loved eggs.

Ew.

He loved chicken eggs.

So, Keith would guzzle back eggs.

No.

Like, no tomorrow.

If ever I was eating egg, he'd eat anything I ate.

He'd jump into my cereal and all sorts.

But he loved eggs.

And it did occur to me at one point, yeah, that's sort of eating his own.

A bird is eating a bird.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And also, he died, right?

He also nibbled on some chicken once as well.

Ew.

No, Keith ended up coupling up with another son, Konya.

He ended up having babies.

Oh.

So, Keith wasn't technically a Keith.

Sort of more of a Shelly, I guess.

Oh.

I'm sorry.

I'm thinking of fudge.

Yeah, fudge died.

Why did you have to bring up fudge?

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

That was my budgie when I was eight years old.

Yeah, really sweet.

He'd sleep on the pillow next to me.

Yeah.

Anyway, so, if it's like a burrito, like a breakfast item and they're offering chicken

in with the egg, that's a no-go for me.

You're not doing it.

Nope.

These are two different processes of this chicken's life.

Get them the hell away from me.

Yes.

But, of course, a pig, bacon and eggs, any day.

Today.

Today.

That's what I had.

Isn't it strange?

I mean, they are such an unusual thing to eat.

If it was fertilized-

It's a period.

It would be like a beautiful living bird.

I know.

And have you spent much time with chickens?

Oh, no.

Oh.

They're really fun creatures.

And so, the idea that we guilt-free, just including myself, sort of guzzle back their

periods is such an unusual thing.

I mean, if that egg was left and fertilized, I guess it's the whole thing as well of where

these eggs come from.

Are they from chickens that are in little cages?

Yes.

Are they in pastures?

It's very easy to put all that stuff out of your mind when it's just a cute little egg

in front of you.

Yeah.

Which are delicious.

But it is on the scale of animal rights and eating.

It's low on the scale, right?

Because it's not killing the bird.

It's just eating its good, delicious periods.

Yeah.

Depending on the conditions it's kept in.

Exactly.

But they're not chopping its head off at any point.

I was too scared to get into all that stuff for this episode.

It's probably like chickens part two or something.

Yeah.

Because that's a whole other thing.

And we have the same conversations in New Zealand about that stuff as well.

There was this really amazing current affairs story in New Zealand that a colleague did

where they found out that this one of our most popular brands that was stamped with

sort of a pasture stamp.

You know, these are chickens that are free running.

They're happy.

They lay the eggs wherever they want.

They were actually all factory farmed.

No.

And they basically doorstopped this guy and he revealed this really popular brand.

None of the chickens were free.

They were all kept in like really terrible conditions.

Oh no.

Because you trust the label.

That's where the FDA, as I found out, would come in.

They regulate, and the USDA, they regulate how the actual producers are dealing with it.

This is a ding, ding, ding to the movie episode.

The trailers are misleading you into seeing the movie.

It's kind of the same thing.

But that one's nonsensical and this one makes sense.

100%.

Stay tuned for more Flightless Bird.

We'll be right back after a word from our sponsors.

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Okay, do you want to know how my investigation goes?

Yes, please.

Okay, let's get some answers.

Aw yeah.

I looked out the window seeing this boy hair.

Ran through the fridge and pulled out an egg.

Spilled it over my skull. He had no hair.

Lost that shot and he was put out there.

A few weeks into my egg investigation, I still don't know why Americans are all advised to put their eggs in the fridge.

But there's light at the end of the tunnel.

I'm finally speaking to a poultry extension specialist at Purdue University, Darren Karcher.

Darren earned his PhD studying gastrointestinal development in turkeys, chickens and ducks

and is an associate professor at Purdue.

So I'm Darren Karcher, the poultry extension specialist at Purdue University.

I get to work with commercial industry, so millions of birds, down to people that have six chickens in their backyard.

So I get to see the whole spectrum of people when it comes to poultry.

Darren is a revelation.

A man who not only appears keen to answer my questions, any questions about eggs, but he'll go on the record about it.

What's your favorite way to have eggs?

My favorite is probably just scrambled.

I'm thrilled.

So far people haven't been very helpful.

I'll be tempted to describe them as eggheads.

The term egghead was actually birthed in America in the early 50s.

An insult thrown at those who supported Adlai Ewing Stephenson II, the Democratic nominee for president in 1952.

The world's first official egghead.

From there the insult caught on.

American movies like Home Alone making sure it became commonplace even in faraway lands like New Zealand.

Now?

No, tomorrow egghead, now!

But Darren Karcher was no egghead.

He was a good egg.

So my job is, David, you reach out and say, I have a question about eggs.

And I'm like, great, let's talk about them.

How did you become so egg obsessed?

It's called 18 years of growing up with mail order hatcheries.

So my parents own a business where they sell baby chicks to people that want the six chickens in the backyard or 4-H projects, FFA, things like that.

It's been a long few weeks and I decided to cut to the chase.

Why is America putting their eggs in the fridge all the time?

Well, the first question I'd ask you, David, is why don't you put yours in the fridge?

Good God, I need answers, Darren, not questions.

I'm not here for your egg riddles.

I'm putting things like butter in there.

I'm putting things that need to go in the fridge in the fridge.

Eggs don't need to go in the fridge.

Well, if you look at the US, we're one of two or three places in the world.

Japan is one.

And I think it's certain parts of Australia, maybe, that they actually wash their eggs.

And so when you wash your eggs, then the other side is to put them into your fridge to preserve that quality and freshness to maintain that as long as possible.

So washing does have something to do with it.

Something unique to America and a few other countries, including Japan.

But why wash them in the first place?

Back in the 50s and 60s, we were having a lot of rotten and exploding eggs in our food supply.

And so the USDA, so United States Department of Agriculture, said we need to put a stop to this.

And so put into place then that we needed to start to wash our eggs and refrigeration and some other things like that that we now do today.

So was this my answer?

That in the 50s and 60s, America experienced some kind of egg explosion problem?

And their answer was to wash every single egg and put them in the fridge?

But this theory posits that eggs were exploding back before they were washed.

That washing and refrigerating were both ordered at the same time.

His answer has just created more questions.

What entity made that call and at roughly what time?

So I think it was made by the USDA Ag Marketing Service.

And I want to say that it was like in the early 70s.

So what's the correlation between washing an egg and having to put it in the fridge?

So the biggest thing is that, you know, everybody talks about this bloom or cuticle, which is the outside of the egg.

And everybody believes that it is this almighty halo that surrounds the egg and it will never, ever allow anything in.

The reality is that over time, that cuticle sloughs off.

So it disappears.

And if you have any bacteria or anything like that, they can penetrate through the pores into the egg and causing problems.

Really, the biggest thing for us for refrigeration is once we wash them, we're putting them in there to maintain a high level of quality.

So that you've got good eggs for baking, you know, you get higher rise in your angel food cakes.

So it's for their functional properties.

This is making me feel crazy.

According to this expert, this egg spirit, if you will, washed or unwashed, the bloom is often going to come off.

So maybe it's not about the washing.

All this talk of washing and refrigeration, it seems to be a chicken and the egg type situation.

An unsolvable riddle destined to drive you crazy.

And I feel crazy.

I still don't understand the fundamental question of why in New Zealand we're not putting our eggs in the fridge.

Nothing's exploding.

Nothing's going wrong.

Nobody's getting sick.