Eggs: Safe Egg Handling, Salmonella Threat

by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

(Page 2 of 2)

Pinpointing the Problem

State and federal investigators have traced Salmonella enteritidis outbreaks to various raw and undercooked egg-containing products, including Caesar salad, homemade Jamaican malt, French toast, lasagna, hollandaise sauce, and baked and sunnyside-up eggs. A major nationwide SE outbreak in 1994 involved ice cream, which, according to FDA's best determination, became contaminated during shipment of the ice cream mix in an improperly cleaned tanker previously used to haul unpasteurized liquid eggs. Also, the ice cream maker failed to repasteurize the ice cream mix after shipment.

Egg dishes made from "pooled" eggs, especially in institutional settings such as nursing homes, have been a frequent culprit. One contaminated raw egg can infect the whole lot when mixed together, for example, in making scrambled eggs.

SE is destroyed by cooking the egg or egg-containing dish to at least 145 degrees Fahrenheit (63 degrees Celsius). In most of the SE outbreaks in the United States, the egg products were not cooked to the proper temperature.

Frequently, the eggs involved also were not held at a refrigeration temperature of 45 F (7 C) before cooking. Proper refrigeration can help prevent the growth of SE.

The cumulative effect of these errors often causes the outbreak.

In addition to government regulations, efforts under way to stop these errors and subsequent outbreaks include educating consumers, retail food handlers, and food service personnel about proper egg and other food handling.

Technological Advances

Modern technology also may aid in the effort. According to Marilyn Balmer, V.M.D., a consumer safety officer in FDA's Office of Plant and Dairy Foods and Beverages, FDA has reviewed processes for in-shell egg pasteurization, and one of several companies interested in offering it has test-marketed pasteurized in-shell eggs.

The marketability of such eggs is unknown because, home economist Crosby says, "This technology, if perfected, might be a tad expensive." But Charles Beard, D.V.M., Ph.D., vice president of research technology for the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association, points out that in-shell eggs are retailers' preferred product. "Shell eggs get more money [than liquid egg products]," he says.

Other technological possibilities include:

Ionizing radiation, also known as irradiation (see "Irradiation: A Safe Measure for Safer Food" in the May-June 1998 FDA Consumer), to reduce Salmonella in shell eggs. At press time, a food additive petition for such a use was under FDA review.

Reducing Salmonella in chickens by spraying newly hatched chickens with Preempt, a biotechnology product FDA approved last March that contains 29 bacteria. The bacteria, which the chicks ingest when they peck at their wet feathers, reduce Salmonella colonization in the chicks' intestines.

Technology may go a long way towards reducing Salmonella enteritidis in eggs, but Balmer says that, at present, "the problem is multifaceted. That's why the solution has to be a farm-to-table continuum."

Safe Egg Handling

To prevent infection with Salmonella enteritidis, follow these rules when buying, storing, preparing, serving, and eating eggs:

Don't eat raw eggs. This includes so-called "health-food" beverages made with raw eggs, and foods traditionally made with raw eggs, such as Caesar salad, hollandaise sauce, homemade mayonnaise, ice cream, eggnog, and cookie dough, unless the dish was made with a pasteurized liquid egg product or pasteurized in-shell eggs. Egg mixtures made with an egg-milk base cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit (71 degrees Celsius) are safe, too. Use a thermometer to make sure the mixtures reach the correct temperature.

Buy eggs only if sold in the grocer's refrigerated case. Open the carton and check that the eggs are clean and uncracked.

Store eggs in their carton in the coldest part of the refrigerator, not in the door, and use within three to five weeks. The refrigerator should be set at 40 F (5 C) or slightly below.

Keep hard-cooked eggs, including dyed Easter eggs, in the refrigerator, not at room temperature. Use within one week.

Eggs should not be frozen in their shells. To freeze whole eggs, beat yolks and whites together. Egg whites also can be frozen by themselves. Use frozen eggs within one year.

Wash hands, utensils, equipment, and work areas with warm, soapy water before and after contact with eggs and egg-rich foods. Don't leave cooked eggs out of the refrigerator for more than two hours. When baking or cooking, take out the eggs you need, and then return the carton to the refrigerator.

Cook eggs until yolks are firm.

Salmonella Threat

Salmonella is commonly found in the intestinal tracts of animals, especially birds and reptiles. In humans, Salmonella infection can cause salmonellosis, an illness characterized by fever, stomach cramps and diarrhea, which typically develop eight hours to three days after eating a contaminated food or drink. The illness can last as long as seven days, and severe cases may require hospitalization. In some people, it can cause death. A small number of illnesses may develop into recurring joint pain and arthritis.

The degree to which a person becomes sick depends on his or her health status and the number of bacteria ingested. The poorer the health and the larger the number of bacteria, the greater the likelihood for serious illness. People who are most susceptible are children, older Americans, and people with weakened immunity (for example, people with AIDS or cancer).

Salmonella enteritidis is one of the major Salmonella strains showing up in food. Between 1976 and 1994, the proportion of reported Salmonella isolates that were this particular strain increased from 5 percent to 26 percent, according to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

About the Author

www.fda.gov
FDA is A United States government body that oversees medical devices, including contact lenses, intraocular lenses, excimer lasers and eyedrops. In the US, these products must be approved by the FDA before they can be marketed.