To refrigerate or not, that is the question. When it comes to eggs, it all depends on where you live. Different nations handle this food storage issue differently.

对于某些食品来说，冷藏还是不冷藏，这是一个问题。而鸡蛋究竟要不要冷藏则取决于你所生活的地方。不同的国家在鸡蛋储存的处理上是有区别的。

Here in the U.S., we refrigerate — always — while our neighbors across the ocean in the U.K. (and many other countries) don’t. It’s not so much a matter of custom as it is of food safety. Here’s why.

在美国，我们的鸡蛋一般都是要冷藏的，但是我们大洋彼岸的邻居——英国（当然还有很多其他国家）则不冷藏。这并不是因为风俗的关系，而是与食品安全有关。以下就是原因。

In the U.S., all of our commercial eggs are power-washed before being packaged and shipped to a local grocery store near you. The reason for power washing is to rid the egg’s exterior¹ of any harmful bacteria — salmonella is the big fear here — by rinsing² off all organic matter.

在美国，我们所有的成品鸡蛋都是经过强力清洗后才能打包运送到您身边的本地商店。通过清除所有的有机物，这种清洗方式能去除鸡蛋表层任何的有害细菌——其中沙门氏菌是最大的担忧。

Salmonella can contaminate an egg in two ways. One, by passing from an infected hen to its egg when laid. Or two, it can get on the outside of the shell from contact with chicken feces. Power washing does away with the manure³. Unfortunately, it also washes away the egg’s natural protective coating called the cuticle⁴, making it more porous⁵ and susceptible⁶ to contamination. Refrigerating the eggs helps keep potentially harmful microorganisms at bay.

沙门氏菌通过两种方式污染鸡蛋。第一种方式是在下蛋的母鸡已被感染，因而鸡蛋也被感染。另一种方式则是由于鸡蛋壳与鸡粪接触，导致鸡蛋感染沙门氏菌。而强力清洗则能去除鸡粪。可惜的是，这种清洗方式也会使得鸡蛋天然的保护层，我们称之为cuticle（护膜），被清洗掉，从而鸡蛋更容易受到感染。冷藏鸡蛋则能有效地防止有害微生物的滋生。

In the U.K. however, eggs are not washed because it’s believed that washing can transfer harmful bacteria from the outside to the inside of the egg. Instead, hens in the U.K. are vaccinated⁷ to prevent salmonella.

然而，在英国，鸡蛋是不清洗的，因为他们相信清洗会将有害病菌从鸡蛋表层带进鸡蛋里层。因此，英国的母鸡都会注射疫苗，防止感染沙门氏菌。

Both methods are effective in keeping salmonella controlled — one is not better than the other. Just be sure to be aware of the safety regulations in whichever country you happen to be buying your eggs in.

这两种方法都能有效控制沙门氏菌——并没有优劣之分。你只需要留意你要买鸡蛋的那个国家的食品安全规定就行。