“A friend of mine purchases farm fresh eggs and recently has noted what looks like specks of blood – ever so tiny – usually near the yolk of her eggs. We are concerned does this mean the egg is not good for eating?” ~ Kim & Alechia Evans
Thanks for the question, this is a common concern.
Eggs that have blood spots in them may not look very appetizing but they are safe to eat.
Urban legend would tell you that these spots are the beginning of a developing chick, this is not so.
The hen’s reproductive system is made up of an ovary and an oviduct. A mature ovary, which looks like a cluster of grapes, may contain up to 4,000 small ova. Each of these ova can develop into a yolk. About 7-9 days before ovulation, hormones cause an ovum to develop in sequence to a yolk. Each yolk is attached to the ovary by a thin membrane with a fine network of blood vessels.
When you see a blood spot in an egg, it is usually just a small portion of the blood vessel that remained attached to the yolk.
So again, it is completely safe to eat an egg with a blood spot in it but for the sake of aesthetics, remove the spot before cooking.
It is not as common to find an egg with a blood spot from the grocery store. Commercial operations examine the egg’s interior with a very bright light before the egg is packaged for sale. When a blood spot is detected, the egg is discarded.
Have a Wonderful Week.
