At first glance, it may look a little unsightly, but it’s completely harmless. Contrary to popular belief, this red spot is not an incubated chick, nor is it a sign of fertilization.

It’s simply a blood or meat spot.

How does a spot get into an egg?

There are two simple biological reasons for this:

Blood spots: They form when a small blood vessel in the ovary or fallopian tube bursts during ovulation. A drop of blood then gets trapped in the shell along with the yolk.

Meat spots: These are tiny pieces of tissue that have separated from the fallopian tube. They are often brownish and not bright red.

Can I still eat the egg?

Yes, absolutely. This is not a sign of spoilage or illness in the hen. It is a natural byproduct.

Blood spots: These occur when a small coil in the ovary or fallopian tube bursts during ovulation. Tip: If it’s too difficult to see, you can simply pick the spot out with the tip of a knife or the shell and use the egg as usual for cooking or baking. Heating it will kill any potential bacteria anyway.

Why do we see it so rarely in the supermarket?

In fact, these spots occur in about 15% of all eggs. The reason we see them so rarely is because of quality control:

Translucent: At the packing station, eggs are translucent under strong light sources. Eggs with large, visible spots are sorted and usually used for industrial purposes (e.g. baking or pasta), where they are processed anyway.

Brown vs. White eggs: The shell of brown eggs is thicker and darker. This makes the spots harder to see when held up to the light. That’s why it’s statistically more likely that you’ll find a red spot on a brown egg than on a white one.

Interesting fact: By the way, the color of the eggshell has nothing to do with the spot or the quality, but exclusively with the genetics (and earlobes) of the hen!

Was it an egg from the supermarket or directly from the farm – are such “mistakes” often even more common there?