Organic Wash / Rinse for Cleaning Lots of Eggs

[hawkeyext]

Hello, we are a small farm raising 200 chickens looking to become certified organic. As you can image, despite our best preventative efforts, our eggs still get dirty being around 200 chickens. I was told there is an OMRI listed product to help clean eggs but I cannot find it. I'm also under the impression that rinsing is much safer than washing so I'm hoping to find a method (ideally with just warm water) to easilyy and efficiently clean 150-200 eggs a day. Any advice is appreciated.

Thank you.

 

[keesmom]

The OMRI product is 5242 Egg Wash Org. However according to MOFGA (Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association) there are other organic options. Here's what they say:

If you prefer to wash eggs, use water that is 20 degrees warmer than the egg and is at least 90 F; this will make the egg contents swell and push dirt away from the pores of the egg. If you have extremely dirty eggs, a mild detergent or sanitizer approved for washing eggs can be used. Sanitizers that are approved for use in organic production include chlorine (1/2 oz. to 1 gal. of water), vinegar (2 oz. to 1 gal. of water), or one of the following products mixed according to label instructions: sodium hypochlorite, potassium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, hydrogen peroxide, sodium bicarbonate, peracetic acid, or AFCO 5242 Egg Wash Org. Never let eggs sit in water, and don’t submerge them; just have them in a colander and slosh them in the cleaner. Otherwise, once the temperature equalizes, the egg can absorb contaminants from the water. Cool and dry eggs quickly after washing, then store them, large end up, at 45 F and at 75 percent relative humidity. Cleaned eggs sitting at room temperature can drop as much as one grade per day.

And the link to their page. Most if the info pertains to selling eggs in Maine. I couldn't find any info about cleaning eggs on the NOFA-NY site.

http://www.mofga.org/Publications/M...r/Winter20102011/Eggs/tabid/1801/Default.aspx

 

[aart]

Excellent explanation about temperature!

 

[hawkeyext]

Thank you so much for that info. That is EXACTLY what I was looking for. Really appreciate it.