Safety Tips for Cooking Eggs

The chances of an egg being internally contaminated are relatively low, less than one in 10,000 commercial eggs. It is more common for contamination to occur during handling and preparation after the egg has been removed from its shell. Even so, eggs are an excellent breeding ground for microbial activity, and can become internally contaminated through a hen with a Salmonella enteritidis infection in her ovary or oviduct, or from absorbing bacteria through the pores. The latter can occur if the eggs are boiled and then cooled in the presence of infected water or an infected food handler. Externally, the eggs may also be exposed to Salmonella enteritidis by fecal contamination during egg laying. The Centers for Disease Control implicated eggs as the source for a high percentage of Salmonella enteritidis outbreaks, and there is an increasing possibility that Listeria monocytogenes, which can grow at refrigerator temperatures and has already been observed on whole eggs, may also contribute to future outbreaks. There are many precautions that can be taken to prevent foodborne illness from eggs.

• Use an egg separator rather than passing the yolk back and forth between the two shell halves.
• Always store eggs in the refrigerator, never at room temperature. Meringue-covered pies and other egg-containing foods should be refrigerated until served.
• Raw eggs should never be consumed as this is especially the case for the very young, elderly, or immune-compromised.
• Use only pasteurized eggs for food items in which eggs are only lightly cooked or not at all, such as Caesar salad, uncooked hollandaise or bearnaise sauce, and homemade mayonnaise, eggnog, ice cream, etc.
• Do not add raw egg to already scrambled eggs, a practice sometimes used in food service operations to increase the moisture content of dried scrambled eggs.
• Cook eggs until no visible liquid egg remains, especially when preparing French toast, scrambled eggs, poached eggs, and omelets.
• A knife inserted into baked egg dishes such as quiches, baked custards, and most casseroles should come out clean.
• Scrambled eggs should be held on cafeteria and buffet lines at appropriate temperatures.
• Be extra cautious when preparing lightly cooked egg dishes such as mousse, meringue, and other similar dishes, because they may not be sufficiently cooked to eliminate possible bacteria.
• All egg dishes should be heated to 145^oF (63^oC).