[vkou]

These storage guidelines are incredibly paranoid.

Milk does not go bad a week after opening. Eggs don't spoil after two to four weeks in the fridge. A bag of bacon in the freezer isn't going to end you because it sat there for three months. Fruit juice doesn't go bad in 3 days. Butter doesn't go bad after two weeks at room temperate, let alone in a fridge.

[dragonsky67]

That really does depend upon your definition of room tempreature. I'm pretty sure anything above about 30 degrees C will put pay to many food stuffs in fairly short order. Everybodies storage conditions differ, tempreature, humidity and light exposure all have an impact on how long foods will safely store.

The other element is how the item is handled. Traditional bacon stored in brine can last for months in most conditions however I would not attempt to store opened bacon for more than a week or so. Likewise if you have raw meat, it is all about what it has been exposed to that can make it dangerous. Cooked meat, if uncontaminated and cooked through can last for quiet a while and still be safe. Once contaminated it can become dangerous quiet quickly.

[ars]

Agreed. Eggs can last 3 months outside a fridge, and yes, that includes eggs in the us.

[bacon_waffle]

If eggs are oiled and refrigerated, they'll last more like 8 or 9 months. I think the oiling is an old maritime technique, but came across it wintering at South Pole.

Of course, 3 months is plenty for the present discussion.

[Alex3917]

> Eggs can last 3 months outside a fridge, and yes, that includes eggs in the us.

Commercially bought eggs in the US need to be refrigerated because they remove the outer antibiotic coating before sending them to stores.

[ars]

> because they remove the outer antibiotic coating before sending them to stores.

The coating is oil from the chicken, and they wash it and replace it with mineral oil, which works just as well.

I speak from experience: I have not refrigerated US bought eggs for around 10 years. Not a single problem.

If you keep them un-refrigerated for more than 2 months (which I did because there was a really good deal, so I bought a lot), the eggs are not fresh, the yolk falls apart easily. (So not great in certain recipes.)

However they are not spoiled or anything like that, and the taste is unchanged.

[blake1]

Partly true. The washing process removes the natural coating, but this is replaced by a synthetic coating. GP is correct.