Grade B Eggs – How to Save on Buying Eggs at the Grocery Store

Do you know what Grade B Eggs are? And do you know how Grade B Eggs can save you money?

Eggs are a regular breakfast food in our house and millions of other homes across the country. But Egg prices go up and down on a regular basis and can sometimes rise as high as $7.00 a dozen. This can put a strain on the family’s food budget, especially if you like eggs.

How to save money with Grade B Eggs

How can a family enjoy a breakfast favorite without breaking their budget?

We’ve discovered a few ways to save on eggs that you may not have considered.

Knowing the Egg Lifespan Can Save You Money

Remember that eggs, properly refrigerated can last up to a month . . . sometimes up to 6 weeks. The USDA recommends that eggs be stored no longer than 5 weeks. We say, “Use your common sense,” and your nose. (Source: USDA Egg Storage Chart)

What changes when eggs get older?

Source: ThePoultrySite

The only change we notice in older eggs is that the egg whites get a little thinner. When using older eggs, break each one in a smaller bowl to confirm that it is still good, then pour it into a larger bowl with other eggs you are using in a recipe. We do this rather than breaking it into a larger bowl containing other unshelled eggs and potentially spoiling the entire bowl with one rotten egg . . . yes, we learned this from experience.

We do this rather than breaking it into a larger bowl containing other unshelled eggs and potentially spoiling the entire bowl with one rotten egg . . . yes, we learned this from experience.

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RELATED ARTICLE: 6 Reasons Why Eggs Are So Expensive?

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3 Strategies to Help You Save Money on Eggs

Okay, so let’s save some money with eggs. Here are 3 of the ways we’ve cut the cost of buying eggs for our family.

Strategy 1: Check the Sell-By Date

Look for Grade A eggs that are close to the sell-by date and ask the dairy manager if he’s allowed to mark them down. We’ve received a good response several times and seen steep discounts.

Strategy 2: Save with Bulk Eggs

Buy Grade A eggs in bulk and share with friends. Some stores sell a case of 5-dozen eggs and the price per dozen is about 20% less than a single dozen. If you don’t use 5 dozen eggs in a month, consider splitting the cost and the eggs with a neighbor.

Strategy 3: Learn about Grade B Eggs

About 10 years ago we noticed that Kroger Grocery stores were selling eggs from broken dozens, and repackaging them in packages labeled “Grade B” eggs. They sold the Grade B eggs at a steep discount.

Really, Kroger’s Grade B eggs are just Grade A eggs in different packaging with lower prices!

We’ve seen Grade B eggs priced anywhere from $.99 to $1.29 per dozen at the stores in our area. That alone is a huge saving with regular prices sometimes as high as $4 per dozen.

Weighing Grade B Eggs

But the deal gets even better if you weigh a carton of Grade B eggs. Because the stores take Grade A eggs from several different dozens and combine them into their own Grade B packages, the weight of each carton can vary greatly from one to the next. Out of the 10 dozen eggs we purchased here’s what they weighed:

• 2 weighed as much as a dozen Medium Eggs (21+ oz)
• 3 weighed as much as a dozen Large Eggs (24+ oz)
• 5 weighed as much as a dozen Extra Large Eggs (27+ oz )

What is the USDA’s Definition of Grade B Eggs?

Grade AA

• Air Cell: 1/8 inch or less
• White: Clear/Firm
• Yolk: Outline Slightly Defined
• Spots (blood or meat): None

Grade A

• Air Cell: 3/16inch or less
• White: Clear – May Be Somewhat Firm
• Yolk: Outline Fairly Well Defined
• Spots (blood or meat): None

Grade B

• Air Cell: more than 3/16
• White: Clean, but may be weak or watery
• Yolk: Outline Clearly Visible
• Spots (blood or meat): Some, but not more than 1/8 inch in diameter

Based on these standards the “Grade B” eggs we’ve purchased from Kroger were always Grade A or AA.

Are Grade B Eggs Safe To Eat?

Yes, they are. If you want to learn more about how long eggs can last read this article.

How Much Does One Dozen Eggs Weigh?

These are the USDA size and weight requirements for a dozen eggs:

• Small: 18 oz (1.5 oz per egg)
• Medium: 21 oz (1.75 oz per egg)
• Large: 24 oz (2 oz per egg)
• Extra-Large: 27 oz (about 2.25 oz per egg)
• Jumbo: 30 oz (about 2.5 oz per egg)
  Source: USDA

Watch this video that Steve shot in a grocery store. He was at the store to pick up some overstocked eggs and found an even better deal on Grade B eggs. We made some phone calls and found that throughout the Kroger chain of stores this is a pretty common practice. They move good eggs from broken dozens into clean, their own new B Grade packages and mark them down to sell quickly.

As you can see from the video and from the photos, some of the Grade B eggs were plain white, others were brown and a few were Eggland’s Best (designer eggs).

It Pays to Ask for a Discount on Eggs

It never hurts to ask about your store’s policy about broken dozens and if they have Grade B eggs. As we’ve traveled around the country, we’ve checked in at various Kroger stores and asked about their Grade B egg policy. It seems to be a local decision with some regions doing it and others not. But once again, if we as consumers ask for it, we might find that things can change.

Fox News Interview about Grade B Eggs

In this interview on Fox News – The Live Desk, guest host Heather Nauer asked us to share several ways we save money on groceries.

We listed several and then mentioned how we save a ton of money by purchasing Grade B eggs. One psychologist on the A-Team Panel thought that our mentioning buying Grade B eggs (saving 60 percent) sent a bad message to Americans and could cause emotional distress and panic — no joke. Watch the video and let us know if you think that we’re creating panic by encouraging people to save money.

Watch the video here . . . but please don’t panic

For more ways to save thousands of dollars on your groceries this year, get our seminar audio CD Stretching Grocery Dollars or consider buying our book Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half with America’s Cheapest Family.

And for even more savings in the Dairy department of the grocery store, visit the Dairy Money Saving Tips page of our website.