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Is it safe to reuse egg cartons?

USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is clear on the subject, saying items such as foam meat trays, convenience food dishes and egg cartons should be considered one-time-use packaging. Commercial egg farmers who follow the FDA’s Egg Safety Rule wash and sanitize eggs before packing them in clean, new cartons, eliminating bacteria that may have been present on the shell. But bacteria could creep back into the picture as eggs are handled at stores and in homes. It’s a good idea to discard used egg cartons and not reuse them. Recycle them, if you can.

Egg shells should never be put back in the carton after cracking them if there are still intact eggs left in the carton. Bacteria has the potential to be on the outside, as well as the inside of an egg, and mixing cracked eggs with intact eggs greatly increases the risk of bacteria transfer by hands, utensils, air, etc.