The Forbidden American Egg

[Major Nikon]

8. It's important to differentiate between pathogenic and spoilage bacteria

Most of the bacteria that makes food go "bad" are spoilage bacteria and many of these produce pungent odors and flavors. OTH, pathogens, the bacteria that can make you sick, are generally odorless and tasteless. The conditions that allow spoilage bacteria to multiply are the same conditions that allow pathogenic bacteria to multiply, but it's often that one will be present without the other.

Storing eggs on the counter is how we did it when I was a kid, however I lived on a farm and our eggs were never more than a few days out of the chicken.

The USDA recommends you refrigerate all commercially bought eggs in the US. The reason is because eggs in the US are washed which removes the protective coating from the egg. So they no longer have any resistance from external contaminates. In other countries they will routinely leave eggs unrefrigerated, but those eggs are unwashed and never refrigerated. The worst thing you can do with commercial eggs is leave them out after they have been refrigerated as the condensation which develops on the outside produces an ideal environment for pathogens.