If you plan on eating Easter eggs, don’t leave them at room temperature for too long, says Dr. Francisco Diez González, a food science professor and director of the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia in Athens.
He recommends the “two-hour rule.” If you plan to eat fresh food, don’t leave it out for more than 2 hours. This is true even at cooler temperatures. That’s because bacteria multiply rapidly when temperatures reach between 40 and 140 degrees (what experts call the “danger zone”). “To protect perishables, (Easter eggs) should be stored below or above this temperature range,” Dr. Diez-Gonzalez added.
“Let’s say there’s bacteria in a bird’s droppings, and an egg that’s been placed comes into contact with that bird’s droppings,” says Martin Bucknavage, a senior food safety expert at Penn State’s School of Food Science in University Park, Pennsylvania. “Egg shells provide some protection, but it is important to remember that this is not impermeable, especially if moisture gets attached to the outer shell.”
If the Easter egg hunt is held indoors, this risk of contamination is lower, but not zero. “Eggs may be hidden on surfaces that are not clean, so there may be microorganisms present,” Diez-González says.
To eliminate the possibility of eating contaminated eggs, you can prepare two batches. One is for egg collection only and the other is for food only. “Even better, use a plastic egg stash and keep hard-boiled eggs in the refrigerator until you’re ready to eat them,” says Bucknavage.
