How long do eggs stay fresh without refrigeration?

Can anyone point me to reliable information about how long table eggs are safe unrefrigerated? I know the answer is "a really long time" but I'd like to see if there are any studies out there.

I know there will be issues of cleanliness and bacteria, but I am thinking that isn't a factor of temperature of the egg. I don't believe so anyway. That is, Salmonella poisoning isn't a result of keeping eggs at room temperature - it's a result of the bacteria being present and cleanliness standards being such that the contents within the shell come in contact with the bacteria, i.e. excessively dirty eggs.

Can anyone help clarify my response and help me back up with some facts?

Salmonella may be passed on from the hen to the egg during the egg development process which is the reason for Miller/Rochesters having to cull hatchery stock including the BBB turkeys they sold up until last year. In many countries eggs are not kept refrigerated like in North America, but I don't no how long would be considered fresh. If they are kept unrefrigerated they should be clean and not washed.

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I leave mine on the counter for 5 to 7 days. It is very common practise in Australia. After that if I still have them I refridgerate them or feed them to the dogs. I do not find they are any different than the fresh after that amount of time. I prefer to cook with room temperature eggs, I don't like using cold ones.

I believe there is much more trouble with eggs that have been refridgerated and then warmed and refridgerated again. This is bad news and I imagine that is where this has all come from. Eggs in stores here are refridgerated before sales. If the egg has the bloom removed, which washing does, and then is cooled and them warmed again condensation occurs and because the shell is porous things may be able to be absorbed into the egg. That is my understanding anyways.

'They', (whoever they is) say that 1 day in room temperature is like 1 day in the fridge for an egg. No idea how valid that is, but you sure do see deterioration of the quality of the egg the longer it stays out. The yolk starts to 'drop' (not be as tall and thick in the pan) after just a couple days. Stays fresher looking in the fridge *shrug* Go ask 'they', they seem to know everything

I think there are two separate issues here.

Are you asking how long they will stay fresh (that's what the title says) or how long they will stay safe? Safe and fresh are not the same thing.

Evaporation of internal moisture ages an egg. It loses its freshness through its shell every day. This does not immediately affect its edibilty, but does reflect on its 'freshness'. Fresh eggs are dense with moisture. In a bowl of water a fresh egg sinks to the bottom and lays on its side. The longer it sits on your counter, the more moisture evaporates out and the more air that gets in, the more 'stale' the egg becomes. This egg, dropped in a bowl of water, may bounce a little off the bottom and then the fat end may lift a little. You can test freshness this way. Does the fat end of the egg stand straight up in a bowl of water? THROW IT OUT! Does the whole egg float? THROW IT OUT WITH GREAT CARE as an explosion is imminent!

Putting eggs in a carton in a fridge slows the evaporation. BUt fridges are dry. Uncovered eggs in a fridge may in fact age faster than eggs on a counter. But this is affected by MANY variables: internal humidity of your house, the porosity of the egg shells, some hens lay thick eggs, some hens lay thin shelled eggs. The shelf life of an unrefrigerated egg even changes season to season depending on how you heat your home. So 'fresh' is determined by loss of moisture and influx of air. Airy eggs will float differently when immersed in water.

SAFETY is another issue. If there is any chance that bad bugs are inside your egg, coldness slows down their reproduction. Warmth encourages reproduction. So a mildly poisonous egg at cold temp will become a wildy poisonous egg at room temp. (actually this is just a guess but I think it sounds brilliant) We refrigerate eggs to slow down any potential baddies. It is an insurance policy. Since we cannot guarantee they are bug free, we stick them in the fridge to stack the odds in our favour.

I have had dud eggs sit for a week in the incubator, being HEATED and broken them to find them looking and smelling the same way as the day I put them in. I have had others that go poof when you crack them and wow, the smell! So..an egg is a bit of a gamble, they will survive just fine on the counter, unless they go bad and you have no way of knowing what way your egg might go. They may be FRESHER on the counter (depending) but SAFER in the fridge.