A whole night on the counter adds up to many more than 2 hours in the danger zone (40–140°F).
Throw out refrigerated eggs that have been sitting out longer than 2 hours. A chilled egg left at room temperature can sweat, and that moisture helps bacteria get through the shell. Eggs sold in the US are washed, so they need to stay in the fridge.
Keep it or toss it?
Throw out refrigerated eggs that have been sitting out longer than 2 hours. A chilled egg left at room temperature can sweat, and that moisture helps bacteria get through the shell. Eggs sold in the US are washed, so they need to stay in the fridge.
Bacteria grow at their fastest in the 4 °C to 60 °C (40–140 °F) range.
Safe time out of the fridge for eggs, by room temperature
| Air temperature | Safe window | After that |
|---|---|---|
| Below 40°F (4°C) | In the fridge — 3–5 weeks | Eat within its fridge life |
| 40–90°F (4–32°C) | 2 hours | Throw away |
| Above 90°F (32°C) | 1 hour | Throw away |
| All night (8+ hours) | Unsafe | Throw away; reheating won't help |
Avoid a repeat: storing eggs safely
- Leave eggs in the carton and set it on an interior shelf rather than in the door.
- Hold them at 40°F (4°C) or colder, and skip washing them before they go in.
- Get hard-boiled eggs into the fridge no more than 2 hours after cooking.
Typical eggs left-out scenarios
Buffet or party table
Put out eggs in small batches, and every two hours or so swap in cold servings straight from the fridge. Set cold platters over a tray of ice. Anything that has been out longer than 2 hours should be thrown away rather than returned to the fridge.
Picnic or cookout
Carry eggs in an insulated cooler packed with ice packs, set it in the shade, and keep the lid shut as much as you can. When it is hotter than 32°C (90°F), food sitting outside the cooler has just 1 hour.
Power outage
With the door kept shut, a fridge stays cold for roughly 4 hours, while a full freezer keeps its temperature roughly 48 hours, or 24 when only half full. After a longer outage, discard eggs if it has sat above 4°C (40°F) for longer than 2 hours.
Left out overnight
By the next morning, eggs forgotten on the counter has been in the danger zone for many hours. Even if it looks and smells normal, it needs to go. Had it gone into the fridge right away, it would have lasted 3–5 weeks.
How long eggs keeps with each storage method
| Storage | How long | Temp | Packaging | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Counter / pantry | 2 hours | 68–72°F | Airtight | only 1 hour above 90°F |
| Refrigerator | 3–5 weeks | ≤ 40°F / 4°C | Airtight | 40°F (4°C) or colder |
| Freezer | Not recommended | 0°F / -18°C | Wrapped or freezer bag | hurts texture or safety |
Getting to know eggs
Eggs sit in the dairy & eggs section of our food guide. The USDA FoodKeeper database files them under the name “Eggs (in shell)”. Going by USDA FoodKeeper, they last 3–5 weeks in the fridge. Freezing is not advised. As with any perishable food, they shouldn't spend more than 2 hours at room temperature. Best storage spot: choose a middle shelf over the door, which warms up each time someone opens it.
Thanks to the shell and the thin membranes just inside it, eggs last for weeks in the fridge. Eggs sold in the US are washed before they reach stores, a step that strips off the shell's natural protective coating, so they have to stay refrigerated. Once an egg is cracked, separated or cooked, its storage time shrinks sharply.
What makes eggs spoil
Salmonella is the key safety concern with eggs, and it can lurk inside an egg with a perfectly ordinary appearance. As they age, eggs gradually give up water and carbon dioxide through the porous shell, so the white turns runny and the yolk sits flatter. An egg that has truly gone bad gives off a sulfur smell as bacteria break down its proteins.
Mistakes people make storing eggs
- Storing the carton in the door, where temperatures go up and down.
- Washing eggs before putting them away.
- Letting cold eggs sit out longer than two hours: condensation on a cold egg can help bacteria get through the shell.
- Freezing whole eggs in their shells, which makes the shells split.
Choosing good eggs at the store
- Open the carton before you buy and make sure none of the eggs are cracked or dirty.
- Only buy eggs that are sold from a refrigerated case.
- Leave them in the carton, which shields them and keeps the pack date in view.
Eggs: ways to finish them in time
- Make a batch of hard-boiled eggs; they keep for a week in the fridge.
- Beat any extras together and freeze them for baking.
- Use them up in quiches, frittatas, custards and baked goods.
The best place for eggs
Choose a middle shelf over the door, which warms up each time someone opens it.
How long did your eggs sit out?
Well within the 2-hour limit. Get them into the fridge right away, spread out in a shallow dish so they chill fast.
OK at ordinary room temperature. If it is hotter than 32°C (90°F), though, the limit shrinks to just 1 hour, so get them into the fridge at once.
The USDA cut-off is two hours. If the room was warm, or you can't say for certain how long it has been, throw them out.
This is over the 2-hour limit, and bacteria could have grown, or made toxins that a round of reheating won't destroy.
Eggs left out overnight have sat for hours on end between 4°C and 60°C (40–140°F), the danger zone. Appearance is no guide here: it isn't safe to eat.
Anything warmer than 4°C (40°F) counts as room temperature. When it's hotter than 32°C (90°F), the limit drops to 1 hour.
Your eggs storage questions
How long do eggs last in the fridge?
3–5 weeks when held at 4°C (40°F) or below. Start counting on the day it was bought, opened or cooked.
How long do eggs last in the freezer?
Not recommended. FoodKeeper advises against freezing eggs: the texture falls apart, or the thawed result can't be trusted to be safe.
How long do eggs last at room temperature?
2 hours at most, or 1 hour if the air is above 32°C (90°F). Throw out perishable food that has been out longer than that.
How long is eggs good after the expiration date?
With perishable eggs, time in storage counts for more than whatever the label says. Once it has spent longer than 3–5 weeks in the fridge, throw it out — even if the printed date hasn't arrived yet.
How do you know if eggs are bad?
A sulfur smell the moment the shell cracks is unmistakable — throw that egg away. Shells that are cracked, or that feel slimy or powdery. Whites or yolks with a pink, green or iridescent look.
How long can eggs sit out?
At room temperature the limit is 2 hours, dropping to 1 hour when the temperature tops 32°C (90°F). A whole night out is never safe.
Eggs myths: fact or fiction?
- You got it!Not this time.
False. Food-poisoning bacteria seldom alter how food smells. Keep to the 3–5 weeks window and discard anything older.
- You got it!Not this time.
False. The freezer puts bacteria on hold rather than killing them. They start up again as the food warms, so let it thaw in the fridge, then cook or reheat it all the way through.
- You got it!Not this time.
False. FoodKeeper advises against freezing eggs: the texture falls apart, or the thawed result can't be trusted to be safe.
- You got it!Not this time.
False. Each time the fridge is opened, the door heats up. Choose a middle shelf over the door, which warms up each time someone opens it.
- You got it!Not this time.
False. Certain bacteria produce toxins that heat cannot destroy. Reheating kills the bacteria themselves but leaves those toxins behind, so anything left out longer than 2 hours belongs in the trash.
