The  Basur  IS  Asur

Blood Spots in Eggs

by Shira Klein and Esti Weintraub

(Vayikra 7: 26) “You shall not consume any blood, in any of your dwelling places, whether from fowl or from animals.”  This pasuk clearly states that eating the blood of an animal and chicken is asur from the Torah.  This includes the eating of blood from a fertilized egg whose embryo did not fully grow yet into a chicken.  However, these rules are extremely complex and not as straightforward as this pasuk may make it appear.

In Talmudic times, blood spots in eggs occurred for two reasons.  The first was that an egg had been fertilized and a chicken embryo was in formation.  The second reason was that a tissue irregularity in the hen caused a small amount of blood to drop on the egg.  However in this day and age, only the latter one occurs since there are no roosters in the egg-laying coop.  Even this is so rare that less than one percent of eggs have blood spots.

            Additionally, the United States government requires all supermarket eggs (i.e. grade A and grade AA eggs) to be checked for blood spots before they can be sold in a process referred to as candling.  Therefore, the amount of table eggs that would have blood spots is extremely low.  Grade B eggs (eggs that are found with blood spots or other problems) are sold to commercial manufacturing plants to be used for ingredients in manufacturing items and are not regulated by the government.  One might find grade B eggs if they buy eggs from a roadside or farmers market.

            The Gemarah in Chulin 64b states,  “If there was found on it a spot of blood, the blood must be thrown away and the rest of the egg may be eaten. R. Jermiah said, This is so provided that it was found upon the knot.  Dosthai …taught: This rule applies only if it was found on the white, but if found on the yolk the whole egg is forbidden, for the decay has spread over the entire egg.”  According to Rashi the two Rabbis really agree. The knot (according to Rashi, which is in the white), is where the embryo begins to form. Therefore, according to R. Jermiah, if it is just found there that part can be thrown away and the rest of the egg may be eaten.  However, when the spot is found on the yolk, the embryo has begun to grow and spread, and so R. Dosthai says the whole egg is forbidden.

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   ”  The Rambam says this in Mishna Torah-Nashim Kedushah, Hilchot Ma’achalot Asurot (3:9).  He is reiterating the same thing as Dosthai.  Blood that was found on the white of an egg should be thrown away, but the rest of the egg may be eaten.  However, if blood is found on the yolk of an egg, the whole thing is forbidden.  The Rif holds with this same opinion.

            The Shulchan Aruch Yoreh Deah (66:1) agrees and states that if blood is found on the white, the blood is asur but the egg is mutar.  However if blood is found on the yolk the whole thing is asur.

            The Rosh disagrees and says that if blood is found in either the white or yolk and one is sure it has not come directly from the knot in the egg  (where the egg is fertilized and embryo begins to form), then the blood is thrown away and the rest of the egg may be eaten.

            The Ramo states that because of the complexity of these rules and because an error can easily occur, it is the custom in our communities to prohibit all eggs with blood spots and not to distinguish between blood in the white or yolk.

            Everything previously discussed deals with blood spots in eggs because of fertilization, and when there is a possibility of violating an Asur Deyorita.   However, blood spots occur for other reasons as well.  The Shulchan Aruch Yoreh Deah (66:7) Says,  “

                            ” (“Eggs from a coop where there are no roosters may be eaten, even if the hen sat on the eggs for many days, so long as one removes the blood spot.”)  This is true because the egg cannot be fertilized without the rooster, and therefore there is no embryo, which would make the egg an Isur Deyorita.  Some Rishonim say that when one has an egg with a blood spot from a hen that has been separated from a rooster, even the blood spot may be eaten, although most reject this view.

Since table eggs in the United States today never have blood spots that result from the fertilization process, there are some Halachic authorities that say that there is no obligation or custom to throw out the egg when one sees a blood spot.  Rav Ovadia Yosef and Rav Moshe Feinstein agree that one may simply throw out the blood spot and eat the whole egg.  However, most people find it too messy and annoying to remove a blood spot and keep the rest of an egg, and so they simply throw out the whole egg.  This is especially true in modern days when eggs cost less than a dime.

            In cases where the blood spot on the white had already been cooked in with other food, the food as well as the pot and utensils are kosher and need not be kashered.    The blood spot should try to be removed. However, if there was blood on an egg yolk that resulted because of the fertilization process, and is cooked with food, then the food as well as the pot and utensils are asur. If the egg was cold when it was served, the utensils and pan are mutar and just need to be rinsed off.

            If one Trefeh egg (egg with blood spot in yolk) is boiled and is found later to contain a blood spot, the water and pan are asur, as mentioned above.  If two or more kosher eggs are boiled with one Trefeh egg, than the pan as well as the eggs remain kosher because of the rule of majority, and only the Trefeh egg needs to be discarded.  In order to minimize the chances of this happening it is best to boil at least three eggs at one time.

             The Shulchan Aruch (66:8) discusses the matter of hard-boiled eggs.  This quote claims that it is permitted to eat hardboiled eggs which were not checked before they were cooked, and are hard to check (or cannot be checked) once they are cooked, since we rely on the fact that the majority of eggs do not contain blood spots.  The Ramo agrees, but adds that if possible some have the custom to be extra cautious and try to cut open a hard boiled egg and check for blood spots in the yolk.  The Shulchan Aruch also says that one can eat roasted eggs even though one cannot check them.

            If a person notices a blood spot in an egg after he has already started eating it, he must stop from eating and swallowing further.  He must clear his mouth and clean it by rinsing with a liquid and chewing with solid food, neither of which should be swallowed.

In pre-modern farms, Halacha did not require that one check eggs for blood spots before eating them.  The Shulchan Aruch (66:8) states that one does not generally even have to check eggs.  The Ramo adds: One does not have to check for a blood spot before eating because one relies on the fact that most eggs do not contain blood spots.  However, people have the custom to be strict and check.  This is so because there are times when if one sees a blood spot during the cooking process or even later, the food might need to be discarded.  Also, one might eat a blood spot and therefore eat food that was forbidden.

            In modern times, there are six different reasons given as to why it is not necessary to check eggs before using them.  First, the United States Department of Agriculture already requires that all eggs be checked for blood spots before being sent to a supermarket and being sold as grade A or AA.  Second, supermarket eggs never contain blood spots that result from fertilization and therefore a violation of an Isur Deyorita will never occur.  The custom to check eggs were limited to a society when not checking might lead to a Torah violation.  Third, there was never a custom to check blood in eggs when they were all from hens raised alone (without roosters). Some Rishonim paskin that even the blood itself may be eaten.  Fourth, blood spotting in grade A or AA in supermarkets is less than one in a thousand, and usually one does not have to check for infrequent Rabbanic prohibitions.  Fifth, Halacha never said that one is required to check for blood spots; it was a custom, and it in itself did not apply if it was difficult time to check (i.e. night time).  Nowadays, because of the many varieties of cooking methods, it can be difficult to check.  Sixth, if there is a blood spot in an egg, one will naturally see it without even taking the time to check.

            There are also reasons why some have the Minhag to check all their eggs.  If one finds a blood spot while cooking, the spot must be removed.  It is easier to remove the blood before it is mixed with all the other ingredients.  If one buys brown eggs, free range eggs, organic eggs, or eggs sold at a farmers market, he must check these eggs since they are not labeled as supermarkets grade A or AA.  Because of this, some say it is easier to check all types of eggs, so as not to confuse them and cause an error to be made.  Lastly, if someone frequently travels abroad, where egg farming is different, he will definitely be required to check eggs for blood spots.  Therefore, some find it easier to simply check all eggs.