
When Refrigeration Was Controversial - samclemens
http://daily.jstor.org/when-refrigeration-was-controversial/
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madgar
Refrigation also put good, hardworking ice dealers out of business in NYC. Of
course, the ice business was controlled by the mafia, but that's just market
forces at work.

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hx87
If that had happened in 2016, MA would be taxing GE to pay off the ice mafia.

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baby
Eggs are rarely sold refrigerated in France, so I don't see why they're taking
eggs as an example. Definitely not a seasonal thing in France :D

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raarts
Refrigerating eggs is not 'ubiquitous' as mentioned in the article, the US is
more then exception than the norm[1] here.

[http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/09/11/336330502/why...](http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/09/11/336330502/why-
the-u-s-chills-its-eggs-and-most-of-the-world-doesnt)

~~~
toomanybeersies
Here in New Zealand it's abut 50/50 whether a household refrigerates eggs. I
don't think it's a requirement for restaurants to do so either.

Apparently all eggs in Australia and New Zealand are pasteurised [0]. <edit>
looks like I need to work on my critical reading, only egg _products_ like egg
whites need to be pasteurised, eggs don't.

Personally, I don't refigerate my eggs, but I tend to go them pretty quickly.
I've had them out in the kitchen for over a month before, and they've been
fine (it was the middle of winter and a very cold kitchen).

[0]: [http://www.foodsafety.govt.nz/industry/sectors/poultry-
eggs/...](http://www.foodsafety.govt.nz/industry/sectors/poultry-
eggs/eggs/food-standards-code-requirements.htm)

~~~
sitharus
Definitely no requirement to refridgrate eggs in NZ, they're sold
unrefrigrated.

After laying eggs are lightly brushed clean, date stamped and packaged, there
is no other treatment.

Shelf life is around 3 months, normally about a month beyond the best before
date.

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swiley
My grandparents have chickens and they don't need "artificial light" to be
tricked in to laying eggs.

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LoSboccacc
Here in Europe we still keep them eggs at room temperature, which is a bit of
an interesting cultural trivia itself
[http://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-heres-why-we-
nee...](http://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-heres-why-we-need-to-
refrigerate-eggs-20140714-story.html)

~~~
vog
Europe? Really?

Here in Germany, all people I know put their eggs into the fridge.

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eveningcoffee
If you bring them home. In the supermarket eggs are not refrigerated normally
where I live.

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vog
Indeed, they are in the fridge only at home, not in the supermarket.

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mpbm
It's fun to be reminded of controversy that happened outside of modern memory.

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ars
You don't need to refrigerate eggs. They will last for months unrefrigerated.

I'm in the US and I haven't refrigerated eggs in years. Yes, you can buy them
refrigerated from the store and just leave them out - absolutely nothing bad
will happen.

The only risk is salmonella and that is solved by buying a brand that
vaccinates their chickens. (About 50% of US chickens are vaccinated against
salmonella so it's not hard to find a good brand.)

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swiley
I didn't know there was a vaccine for that! If we vaccinated all the chickens
would it kill off salmonella the way human diseases have been eradicated?

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ars
Salmonella can infect all animals, so you can not eradicate it this way.

But you can stop it being a problem in human food. Which happened in Europe
already and would happen in the US if consumers would demand only vaccinated
eggs.

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Ericson2314
SMH To think with our agriculture we use too many antibiotics and not enough
vaccines. How backwards is that...

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InclinedPlane
Most antibiotic use in animals is not for treating disease, it's for weight
gain.

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JoeAltmaier
In fact, when they first came out the salesmen would use them and get fatter,
then have a weigh-in at annual sales meetings! What a vivid demonstration of
the benefits of antibiotics. Imagine trying that today.

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cloudjacker
Man time travel would really suck when you find out about 'the controversy' of
the day

