Summary
Over 15,000 doctors, through the Committee to Protect Health Care, urged the Senate to reject Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of health and human services, citing his anti-vaccine advocacy, promotion of conspiracy theories, and lack of qualifications.
Critics, including Hawaii Gov. Josh Green, warn his leadership would endanger public health. Supporters claim opposition is driven by pharmaceutical interests.
Kennedy’s confirmation would require near-unanimous Republican support in the Senate.
Advocacy groups are campaigning against his appointment, emphasizing his alleged role in spreading misinformation during past public health crises.
I, too, normally eat my eggs with the shell still attached.
And you realize that egg shells are porous? Unwashed eggs are sealed, and that’s one of the reasons why Europe can sell eggs without even refrigeration.
Unwashed eggs have a much shorter shelf life before the salmonella gets through the porous shell.
The EU sells unrefrigerated eggs because they’re fresher - they spoil significantly faster than American eggs.
Unwashed eggs have a shelf life of like 3 weeks. If I put them into the refrigerator, they’re still good for at least 2 months. I’ve eaten eggs that sat in my fridge for almost 3 months, and there was absolutely nothing wrong with them; float test, inside visuals, and taste was perfect.
We don’t usually sell washed eggs, so I don’t know what their shelf life usually is, but a search shows that it’s like 5 weeks at the most? So an extra couple weeks? That doesn’t seem like a huge difference especially when considering the negatives.
We don’t even have salmonella in our egg production lines due to better rules and quality controls, but even if we did, how would removing the cuticle reduce bacteria risks? The cuticle is surprisingly resilient; bacteria doesn’t just “get through” it that quickly or easily.
Also consider that the egg’s cuticle doesn’t just hold out bacteria… it also holds in moisture etc. And when moisture leaves the egg, what happens with the displacement? It sucks in air from outside, which may contain contamination, or any salmonella that wasn’t fully removed. I hope your refrigerator (and all the cooling rooms the eggs have been in prior to you buying it) have cleanroom standards and humidity control!
Why would we sell something that expires quicker, if it’d reduce food waste by having a longer shelf life? Stores here don’t like to throw away expired products instead of selling them.
Consider that the more reasonable answer is cultural differences. Many Americans have an extremely naïve view of agriculture. They would see their eggs with some dirt on it, and would flip out instead of Googling “wtf is a cloaca?”… it’s a similar reason why Americans put tons of unnecessary additives and coloring into their foodstuffs.
(And yes, of course the EU’s rules are far from being perfect, but my common sense and science shows that unwashed eggs should be superior. I like eggs btw.)