Concern for Egg Safety

Eating raw or undercooked eggs can put you at risk of foodborne illness (a.k.a. food poisoning). According to the USDA Food Safety and Consumer Education Office, some unbroken fresh shell eggs contain certain bacteria that can cause illness. The bacteria are Salmonella enteritidis. While the number of eggs affected is quite small, there is no way of identifying a safe egg from an unsafe one. People with health problems, the very young, the elderly and pregnant women (the risk is to the unborn child) are particularly vulnerable to Salmonella.

• Do not eat raw eggs - This includes "health-food" milk shakes with raw eggs, homemade mayonnaise, uncooked eggnog and other recipes in which the raw egg ingredients are not cooked.
• Buy clean eggs - At the store, open the carton and check to make sure the eggs are clean and uncracked. Make sure the eggs are in the refrigerator section of the grocery store.
• Refrigerate eggs - Refrigerate eggs as soon as possible in the carton in coldest part of your refrigerator. The coldest part of your refrigerator is not in the door. Although the compartment on the door is designated by refrigerator manufacturers as an egg storage area, it is a major design flaw. The coldest part is the shelf closest to the freezer coils. Doesn't that make sense?
• Use eggs promptly - Use raw shell eggs within 3 to 5 weeks. Hard cooked eggs will keep for one week, use leftover yolks and whites within 4 days.
• Freeze eggs for longer storage - Do not freeze eggs in their shells. To freeze whole eggs, beat yolks and whites together and use a freezer container. Egg whites can be frozen by themselves. Use frozen eggs within one year.
• Handle eggs safely - Wash hands, utensils, equipment and work areas with warm soapy water before and after contact with eggs and egg-rich foods.
• Store eggs safely - Do not keep eggs, including Easter eggs, out of the refrigerator more than two hours after cooking. Store leftover egg-rich foods in the refrigerator and use within 3 to 4 days.
• Cook eggs - Hard cooked eggs should be safe for everyone to eat. Those at risk for foodborne illness should avoid eating soft-cooked or "runny" eggs.

For more information about eggs and egg safety call the USDA Meat & Poultry Hotline at 1-(800)535-4555 or visit the web site at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/pubs/shelleggs.htm

 

Spring 2001
Finding the Best Site for a Garden Is More Than a Random Process | Build a Raised Bed | It Takes a Kernel of Skill to Grow Great Sweet Corn | Pruning Ornamentals Keeps Your Garden on the Cutting Edge | Lawn Care Calendar | Hort Shorts | Hort Tips | Mad Cow Disease | Green Eggs: The Science of Egg Cookery | Concern for Egg Safety | New National Standards for Organic Food | Your Spring Vegetable Garden Plan | Health & Household Tips | Did You Know?

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