Trader Joe’s is a beloved destination for high-quality, unique, and tasty groceries at an affordable price. But if you happen to pick up a carton of eggs the next time you stop by the retailer, you could be getting more than you bargained for.
The grocery chain offer several egg varieties, including cartons of fertile eggs. This means that under the right incubation conditions, those special eggs could theoretically turn into 12 live chicks. And that’s a hypothesis one TikToker has decided to put to the test.
In a recent viral video that has racked up 1.5 million views and more than 110,000 likes on the platform, teacher @aliceintkland set out to verify whether those fertile Trader Joe’s eggs are actually hatchable. She explained that she had already been incubating farm-fresh eggs for her classroom and added nine Trader Joe’s eggs into the mix.
After 21 days, three of the Trader Joe’s eggs hatched into real chicks, the teacher noted in the video. “Can you believe these guys came from a carton?” she asked.
Fellow Trader Joe’s shoppers were both amazed and horrified to learn that they could purchase a dozen eggs from the retailer and potentially end up with actual chickens.
“The way I gasped! This is so cool,” one TikToker commented on the video. “I may never eat eggs again,” another said.
For shoppers who are more put off than excited by the prospect of fertile eggs, just know that the vast majority of grocery store eggs are not fertile and therefore will not eventually hatch into chicks. This is because commercial egg producers typically separate male and female chicks soon after birth, making fertilization impossible, The Guardian reported.
Even if you do purposefully or accidentally pick up a carton of fertile eggs, there’s no guarantee they’ll actually hatch. After all, only a third of the Trader Joe’s eggs that @aliceintkland tried to hatch in a bonafide incubator actually produced chicks.
Trader Joe’s is no stranger to viral TikTok videos and trends surrounding its grocery products. The retailer’s coveted Squiggly Knife Cut Style Noodles became a TikTok sensation earlier this year as creators shared ways to customize the buzzworthy lunch option. TikTokers have also used the platform to share viral “lazy” Trader Joe’s meals that are low effort and only require a few simple ingredients from the chain.
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Zoe Strozewski
