28 May BLOOD SPOTS IN EGGS

While preparing a dish
for cooking, one is often
unsure if he has to check
the eggs for blood spots.
In addition, companies
receive eggs in various
forms and the question
arises if these eggs need
to be checked? Does
the halacha of checking
for blood spots apply
today? If it does, who is required to check to
see if there are blood spots in the eggs?
These issues and others will be discussed at
length below.
Background
In past years, most eggs came from fertile
hens, whose hormone levels stimulated more
egg production. Today, this is not the case.
The hormones are stimulated artificially,
the chickens themselves are not fertile and
the eggs will not develop into chickens.
About a hundred years ago, chicken farms
became very common. On a chicken farm
only chickens are raised. The chickens only
produce eggs and they are not killed for
consumption. Chickens which are used for
the production of eggs can produce eggs
every day of the year.

The Issur
It is forbidden for one to eat any blood found
in an egg. The reason is not related to the issur
of eating blood, but is because the blood in
the egg is an indication that a new embryo is
forming, and it is forbidden to eat an embryo.
Blood Spots
In the times of the Gemorah, blood appeared
in eggs because of two reasons: 1. The egg
had been fertilized and a chicken embryo
was being produced. 2. An irregularity in
the hen causes a small amount of blood to be
deposited in the egg.
In the United States, the government requires
that Grade A and Grade AA eggs be checked
for blood spots, through a procedure called
candling. During the candling, the eggs are
held before a light in a dark room allowing
any blood spots to be easily detected.
Accordingly, the chance of finding a blood
spot is rare.
The Halacha
The Gemorah in Chulin quotes the halacha of
blood spots in eggs. There is a discussion in
the poskim as to the exact parameters of this
issur. Most say that any blood found in the
egg because of fertilization is ossur and the
egg must be discarded. Some say it depends

on where the blood is found: only in
the yolk (yellow part of the egg), in
the albumin (egg white) or in both the
yolk and the albumin.
The Rama says because of the
difficulty with this halacha, the
custom is that there is no difference
where the blood is found and the
entire egg is forbidden.
Checking Eggs Today
The above discussion was referring to
blood spots which might be from a fertilized
egg, and where there is a possibility to
transgress an issur by eating the developing
embryo. However, the Shulchan Aruch says
eggs which are from a coop where there are
no roosters may be eaten, even if the hen sat
on the eggs for many days. Nonetheless, one
has to remove any blood spot which is found.
The Shach says that even the blood spot is
permitted to be eaten since this egg was not
fertilized. The Gr’a says failing to remove the
blood is an issur d’rabanan.
The Rama says one who is making a dish
with eggs should check the eggs to make
sure there is no blood present in the egg. The
Aruch Ha’shulchan says this is the custom
in all of klal yisroel. The idea of checking
is not according to the letter of the law but
is a custom. If it is hard for one to check
(i.e. night) one may cook the egg without
checking it for blood.
Today, many poskim say the metzius is
that there are no roosters at egg farms so
chickens do not mate and produce eggs
which are fertile. Therefore, if one does
find a blood spot in an egg, all he has to
do is throw out the blood spot and he then
may eat the rest of the egg.
Since eggs are inexpensive, rather than
trying to remove a blood spot, some people
still throw out the whole egg.
Harav Moshe Feinstein zt”l writes that
according to the letter of the law one can
remove the blood spot and eat the egg.
However, he spoke to a farmer who said
eggs are often mixed together – hatching
eggs and table eggs. Therefore, since eggs
are cheap and one does not have a big loss,
one should be stringent and discard the
entire egg. Since this teshuva was written
in 1957 when the metzius may have been
different than it is today, it would seem that
even Harav Moshe zt”l would agree that
nowadays one can be lenient. One who
does check, should check for a red or dark
spot. A brown spot is permitted.
In rural areas where eggs are sold at the
farm or on the side of the road, it is possible
to buy a fertilized egg. In this case it is best
to check the eggs for blood spots.
When eating hard boiled eggs, Harav
Moshe Feinstein zt”l had the custom to
peel back the white to check the surface
of the yolk for blood spots, which would

appear as black spots.
When checking for blood spots, one should
crack the egg in a cup where the egg can be
seen from all sides.
Cooked
As mentioned before, according to the Rama,
before using eggs in food, one should check
to see if there are any blood spots. However,
if it was not done, it is permitted to eat a hard
boiled egg which was not checked beforehand
since we can rely on the fact that most eggs are
not fertilized. One who notices a blood spot
on the food after it is cooked should remove
the blood spot. This can occur when egg yolk
is used to glaze challah or bread. The food is
nonetheless permitted. One is permitted to eat
a fried egg without checking for blood spots.
This is permitted because most eggs do not
contain bloodspots.
Boiling three Eggs
People would have a separate egg pot or cook
three eggs at a time so if one of them would
have a blood spot, it would be butel b’rov and
all the eggs would be permitted. This is not
necessary today, since the chance of finding a
blood spot is very minimal since the eggs are
not fertilized. Based on this, there is no reason
to have a separate egg pot.
However, some still have the custom to wait
twenty-four hours before using a utensil in
which an egg that was not checked for blood
was cooked. No hagala is required after the
twenty-four hour period. One who put an egg
with a blood spot in a hot frying pan does not
have to kasher the pan.
Commercial Production
As mentioned above, checking for blood spots
is a custom. Accordingly, if one is cooking for
hundreds of people (i.e. a caterer or a school,)
or it is dark, or if the food is made in a factory
setting where checking is very difficult, one
does not have to check the eggs for blood
spots.
Frozen Eggs – Powdered Eggs
The poskim discuss whether one is permitted

to purchase frozen or dried eggs from a non-
Jew who did not inspect the eggs for their

kashrus status. The opinion of some poskim is
to be lenient, and this seems to be the custom.
Other Blemishes Found in an Egg Greening
When eggs are boiled for too long, the yolks
will often turn green. This is not an indication
of anything and may be eaten.