Egg Safe Handling Instructions

By : | Comments Off on Egg Safe Handling Instructions | On : April 3, 2013 | Category : General Information

Egg Handling Information

The American food supply is so safe according to politicians that the following warning is printed on some cartons of fresh eggs about the hazards of eating undercooked, improperly stored eggs:

“To prevent illness from bacteria: keep eggs refrigerated, cook eggs until yokes are firm (i.e. hard boiled), and cook foods containing eggs thoroughly.”

In the United States, you are potentially putting your health at risk by eating soft boiled eggs, pies with meringue, Caesar salad dressing, homemade mayonnaise, fried eggs with soft yolks, raw cookie dough and cake batter.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Eggs can be pasteurized, like milk and other foods, to kill bacteria but that adds cost. It is much easier, and far less expensive, placing a warning on a carton of eggs and slightly inconveniencing consumers and cooks. After all, many Americans eat breakfast out and are content with fried egg sandwiches and scrambled eggs.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, about 40,000 cases of salmonella are reported in the United States each year. But the estimated under of total cases including mild, unreported incidence may be 30 times higher or over 1.2 million. The group most affected is children under 5 years old. the main source of egg contamination.

The problem isn’t salmonella on the outside of the eggs shell, but inside the egg. Click here for CDC article.

Click here for CDC tips to reduce your risk of salmonella poising from eggs.According to the CDC, as of 2010 incidence of salmonella poising in the United States increased 3 percent while incidence of listeria and campylobacter poising decreased. The next time a celebrity chef raves about the quality of homemade mayonnaise versus store bought mayonnaise the taste of store bought mayo may be inferior but you can be assured the producer took the precaution to assure it is safe to eat.