FreeRepublic.com "A Conservative News Forum"
[ Last | Latest Posts | Latest Articles | Self Search | Add Bookmark | Post | Abuse | Help! ]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

FDA: scrambled eggs in, sunny-side eggs out

Culture/Society Front Page News Keywords: NANNY STATE
Source: Mpls (red)Star Tribune / AP
Published: 6/14/01
Posted on 06/14/2001 21:11:55 PDT by Valin

DAVENPORT, Iowa -- Federal food regulators want to crack down on eggs in restaurants. Starting Sept. 4, consumers will be advised they should no longer order their eggs sunny-side up or over-easy.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration adopted regulations last year that restrict how eggs can be served and transported. The rules require eggs to be refrigerated when transported and sold. From September and thereafter, egg cartons on supermarket shelves will have to be specially labeled, stating: ``Safe handling instructions: To prevent illness from bacteria: keep eggs refrigerated, cook eggs until yolks are firm and cook foods containing eggs thoroughly.''
The government says that means the incredible edible egg should be eaten only after it is thoroughly cooked.

The ``safe egg'' rules are supposed to warn people about the spread of salmonella enteritidis. About 1.4 million people in the United States get sick from the infection each year, and about one out of every 20,000 eggs produced in the country contains salmonella, said FDA Commissioner Jane Henney.
``You just need to cook your eggs thoroughly - no sunny-side up, no over easy. This is a case when its better to be safe than sorry,'' she said.
Lou Carson, the FDA deputy director for food safety, said he expects most large restaurant chains will no longer serve eggs over easy or sunny-side-up when the warnings come into use because of liability issues.

The advisory is long overdue, said Caroline Smith DeWaal, the director of food safety programs at the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
There will be other changes made in kitchens because of the rules, she said.
``Twenty or 30 years ago, it was OK to let the children lick the bowl or the beaters used to make cake batter,'' Smith DeWaal said.
But that is now considered an unhealthy practice because children can become sick with the salmonella ``bug,'' she said.
``Its fundamentally a different egg than when today's cooks grew up,'' DeWaal said. ``Eating eggs that aren't thoroughly cooked is now a risky approach. People should eat their eggs that are only cooked through and through.''

The vice president of the United Egg Producers, Kenneth Klippen, will continue taking his chances.
He said he is still going to have his eggs cooked ``over easy, medium.''
``You don't have to cook them until they are hard like hockey pucks, just until they are settled,'' Klippen said.

© Copyright 2001 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.


AAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1 Posted on 06/14/2001 21:11:55 PDT by Valin (Running screaming into the night)
[ Reply | Private Reply | Top | Last ]


To: Valin

Actually I like 'em over easy.

A friend of mine always orders:

"Gimme 4 eggs straight up"

Anyone growing tired of the government telling you
what-to-eat-what-not-to-eat-how-to-eat-how-not-to-eat-ad-nausium.........................

2 Posted on 06/14/2001 21:15:34 PDT by His_law_is_liberty
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | Top | Last ]


To: Valin

Oh dear, I hope the Food Police don't find out that I make my own mayonnaise, and it has raw eggs in it.

3 Posted on 06/14/2001 21:23:06 PDT by sockmonkey
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | Top | Last ]


To: Valin

This has gotta be some kind of yolk.

4 Posted on 06/14/2001 21:28:46 PDT by X918
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | Top | Last ]


To: X918

Straight from Lake Woebegone.

5 Posted on 06/14/2001 21:33:36 PDT by ClaireSolt
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | Top | Last ]


To: X918

Eggcuse me did you say something?

6 Posted on 06/14/2001 21:34:51 PDT by Valin
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | Top | Last ]


To: Valin

Personally, I like them scrambled, but this is ridiculous.

7 Posted on 06/14/2001 21:41:18 PDT by NovemberCharlie
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | Top | Last ]


To: Valin

And try to get a hamburger that hasn't been incinerated....

8 Posted on 06/14/2001 21:43:12 PDT by Kozak
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | Top | Last ]


To: NovemberCharlie

I believe your humble servant will be dining out for breakfast, couple of eggs SUNNYSIDE UP, some bacon extra greasy.

9 Posted on 06/14/2001 21:44:19 PDT by Valin
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | Top | Last ]


To: Valin

Well now, isn't this edict issuing forth from the same government which has decreed that some infectious risks simply cannot be avoided?
Will we now face a requirement to label certain human body parts with: "Safe handling instructions: To prevent illness from bacteria"[and viruses].....

10 Posted on 06/14/2001 21:49:32 PDT by yatros from flatwater
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | Top | Last ]


To: yatros from flatwater

Will we now face a requirement to label certain human body parts with: "Safe handling instructions: To prevent illness from bacteria"[and viruses].....

I have some very scarry pictures in my mind reading your reply.

11 Posted on 06/14/2001 21:52:42 PDT by Valin
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | Top | Last ]


To: Valin

``Its fundamentally a different egg than when today's cooks grew up,''

What is this supposed to mean?
How are eggs different today than 20 or 30 years ago?

12 Posted on 06/14/2001 21:57:20 PDT by citizenK
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | Top | Last ]


To: Valin

Mega-Barf Warning!

Ok - First our annual Disney pass was expiring on the 1st week of June - Gay Days at Eisneyworld! (We are not renewing). One morning (Sunday)I said you guys go ahead (8am opening) I'll check out the Orlando paper (Sentinel?)and get breakfast - I was in no hurry to see the sea of red shirts. Hey how 'bout Shoney's? Two bucks more for the steak? No problem.

45 Minutes later ... Comics, Front, Opinion, RE, Classifieds covered... Miss?

Ahh! Finally! Soggy hash-browns - should be a crime. Over easy? Did they even get close to the stove? These eggs could've been cheeping if left alone for 2 minutes - The "steak" - which part isn't gristle?

Least I had a quiet AM and it only cost 12 bucks - yes I tip big as long as the service is good --- still my big question: Where do you get real hash browns - CRISP? Over easy doesn't mean cold - Nevermind ....

Highlight of the weekend: Son wanted a pirate pistol - I requisitioned it and spent most of the day picking off obvious (sorry) faggots.

Mostly it was: "Oh No there's another one! Bang! - Jeez they keep on comin' ....

We enjoy Disney but the Gay week is our reason for not renewing. We're done.

13 Posted on 06/14/2001 22:03:34 PDT by Tunehead54
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | Top | Last ]


To: citizenK

hormones/antibiotics/genetically engineered chickens?

dunno. but the best damned eggs on the planet come from the farmer down the road a piece from me that lets his chickens roam and gives them nothing artificial to eat.

this is really bull$h!#

14 Posted on 06/14/2001 22:05:46 PDT by His_law_is_liberty
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | Top | Last ]


To: Tunehead54

>>>>>>>still my big question: Where do you get real hash browns - CRISP? <<<<<<

Mike and Mary's Village Restaurant, Jefferson OHIO.

15 Posted on 06/14/2001 22:07:34 PDT by His_law_is_liberty
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | Top | Last ]


To: Valin

Let the feds eat cake--------

Maybe the carbs will get them.

16 Posted on 06/14/2001 22:08:21 PDT by RIGHT IN SEATTLE
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | Top | Last ]


To: His_law_is_liberty

Nokomis Grill 50th st s and 34th ave mpls.

17 Posted on 06/15/2001 04:39:42 PDT by Valin
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | Top | Last ]


To: citizenK

Can you believe this? What next will be the hamburgers at McDondalds because of the grease. What has happened to this old world. I am tired of folks telling me whats good and bad for me. I sure feel for the poor old waitresses in the truck stop whan she tells a trucker he can't have his 'sunny side up eggs. I'll start eating at home but, they will probally send the 'egg police' after me.

18 Posted on 06/15/2001 04:46:32 PDT by gulfcoast6
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | Top | Last ]


To: gulfcoast6

"they will probally send the 'egg police' after me."

Then they'll march right to my house and kick in my door, I love my steak RAW (well, with a little brown tone to the outside, but the more blood the better!). It's getting harder and harder to avoid criminal activity. By design?

19 Posted on 06/15/2001 04:51:03 PDT by tinacart ((I hate hitlery!))
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | Top | Last ]


To: ALAMO-GIRL

I happen to love "Over Easy" eggs.

I have been having them for 20 years now, all over the World. I have eaten them in Australia, and in Russia, and in China, and here in the States. I have never gotten sick. Ever.

I thought that we were the land of the FREE. Now, I hear that we have to go out of the US to have Over-Easy Eggs. Unbelieveable!

20 Posted on 06/15/2001 04:56:35 PDT by vannrox
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | Top | Last ]


To: Valin

Why do I have this feeling I'm going to have to sign a release to hold the restaurant harmless if I want my eggs sunny side up or over easy?????? God help me if they find out I make old fashioned ice cream in a hand crank machine during the summer months . . . RAW EGGS!!!!!!

21 Posted on 06/15/2001 05:02:45 PDT by WIladyconservative
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | Top | Last ]


To: WIladyconservative

I love Sunny side up eggs. I will not give up my sunny side up eggs.

Bill

22 Posted on 06/15/2001 05:15:23 PDT by njmaugbill
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 21 | Top | Last ]


To: Valin

So sad that my Grandparents had to die at the very young age of 98 and 101 . Had the food nazi's been around then they would have learned how to spell colesterol "doh" !! ...cholesterol and may have lived to be 200 ! Arrghhh the inhumanity !

Screw resturants, mine is 20 feet down the hall and none of it is "unwrap and pop in the nukeitfast box" fare....Stay Safe !

23 Posted on 06/15/2001 05:24:48 PDT by Squantos
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | Top | Last ]


To: gulfcoast6

What next will be the hamburgers at McDondalds because of the grease. What has happened to this old world. I am tired of folks telling me whats good and bad for me.

And these people (read nanny staters) wonder why so many people are pissed off at government all the time. Yes we (and all people) need a certain level of government, but when the government starts telling me how to cook my eggs....then we've taken a giant step over the line.

24 Posted on 06/15/2001 05:30:03 PDT by Valin
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | Top | Last ]


To: sockmonkey

Oh dear, I hope the Food Police don't find out that I make my own mayonnaise, and it has raw eggs in it.

I was curious about hollandaise sauce, marangue, Ceasar salad dressing, and all those other delicious dishes prepared with raw eggs. We all got to die frum some'n, might as well go out "well fed".

25 Posted on 06/15/2001 05:43:20 PDT by Gramps
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | Top | Last ]


To: WIladyconservative

When are people going to raise up and say this far and no farther! This sort of nonsense is just a symptom of an underlying problem, an out of control government. As a local talk show host says "just tell me how much you want? How much is enough?" I for one am afraid of what the answer is.

26 Posted on 06/15/2001 05:48:03 PDT by Valin
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 21 | Top | Last ]


To: vannrox

I thought that we were the land of the FREE.

BBBBWWWWWAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!

27 Posted on 06/15/2001 05:48:24 PDT by Lazamataz
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 20 | Top | Last ]


To: Valin

SALMONELLA ENTERITIDIS: FROM THE CHICKEN TO THE EGG

White, shining, unmarred a Grade A mystery now lies in the uncracked egg. Is it safe to eat? 9,999 times out of 10,000, yes. But . . .

In May 1989, six nursing home patients in Pennsylvania died from Salmonella enteritidis poisoning after eating stuffing that contained undercooked eggs.

In July, 21 guests at a baby shower in New York became ill after eating a pasta dish made with a raw egg. One victim was 38 weeks pregnant and delivered her baby while ill. The newborn infant developed Salmonella enteritidis blood poisoning and required lengthy hospitalization.

Last August, a healthy 40-year-old man died, and 14 others were hospitalized, after eating egg-based custard pie contaminated with Salmonella enteritidis, which was served at a company party in Pennsylvania. The list goes on.

Public health officials are concerned. More than 49 outbreaks of Salmonella enteritidis poisoning took place in nine states and Puerto Rico last year, resulting in at least 13 deaths and more than 1,628 illnesses. According to the Jan. 5, 1990, issue of the Centers for Disease Control's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, from January 1985 through October 1989, 189 Salmonella enteritidis outbreaks in the United States caused 6,604 illnesses and 43 deaths. Many more illnesses probably went unreported, says Joseph Madden, Ph.D., deputy director of FDA's division of microbiology.

Health investigators suspect that contaminated shell eggs caused nearly half of these outbreaks. The egg connection in these cases was determined by tracing the food eaten by the victims and taking cultures both from patients and foods.

Especially at risk for Salmonella poisoning are the elderly, the very young, pregnant women (because of risk to the fetus), and people already debilitated by serious illness, malnutrition, or weakened immune systems. Symptoms of Salmonella enteritidis infection usually include diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, chills, fever, and headache. The bacteria can invade organs outside the gastrointestinal tract, causing complications that require lengthy hospitalization, even in healthy people.

Symptoms usually develop 12 to 36 hours after eating the contaminated food. The initial illness also can bring about serious chronic complications.

In 1985, in an incident in Chicago, more than 16,000 people contracted food poisoning from low-fat milk contaminated with Salmonella bacteria. Within two weeks, about 2 percent of these patients developed a chronic reactive arthritis condition linked to the infection. Although the Salmonella bacteria that made these people ill was not Salmonella enteritidis, researchers have found that rats infected with Salmonella enteritidis may develop the same arthritic condition. Researchers are concerned that Salmonella enteritidis may also cause this complication in humans.

Since 1976, says Robert Tauxe, M.D., a CDC expert on the spread of the disease, the reported rate for Salmonella enteritidis infections from food has increased more than sixfold in the northeastern part of the United States. First noted in the New England states, the infections also appeared in the mid-Atlantic region by 1983, and now have become a problem in the south Atlantic states as well. Recently, outbreaks were reported in Minnesota, Ohio and Nevada.

The problem also has become an international egg to crack. The U.S. Salmonella epidemic, says Tauxe, is dwarfed by dramatic increases that have been reported from Yugoslavia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, and the United Kingdom. In Britain alone, the number of confirmed Salmonella enteritidis cases reported for January through July 1988 (4,424 cases) was more than double the number (2,000) for the same period in 1987.

Source: Intact Eggs

At first, says Tauxe, we did not have an explanation for this striking increase. The first real clue that intact eggs were a source of the problem came in 1983, when CDC traced a large outbreak caused by Salmonella enteritidis to a commercial stuffed pasta product made with raw eggs.

Investigators then reviewed reports of past outbreaks and determined that at least since 1973, Salmonella enteritidis outbreaks appeared to be caused by the bacteria in clean, uncracked, Grade A eggs.

In the 1960s, Tauxe says, salmonellosis [the disease caused by the Salmonella bacteria] associated with chicken eggs was epidemic in the United States. At that time it was determined that eggs were being contaminated by Salmonella in chicken feces on the outside of the egg shell, which penetrated into the eggs through cracks in the shell. That led to strict rules, established and enforced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, for washing and sanitizing shells of commercial eggs.

But this new epidemic is associated with Salmonella enteritidis in inspected, uncracked and sanitized Grade A eggs. The infected egg may appear normal, says Tauxe. The contamination comes from the inside, not the outside, of the egg.

How Does Contamination Occur?

No one knows how some intact eggs become contaminated with Salmonella enteritidis. Poultry researchers, however, suggest that the egg yolk becomes infected before the shell forms.

In fact, Charles Benson, Ph.D., of the University of Pennsylvania, says that in his experiments the bacteria were found not in the white, as when organisms penetrate the egg shell, but only in the yolk. This occurred even though Benson added iron to the white to encourage the bacteria to grow in the albumen, which has antibacterial properties.

Madden believes that in the past 10 years a new strain of Salmonella enteritidis that can live in chickens may have evolved. Other researchers are finding that Salmonella enteritidis bacteria migrate from the yolk to the white of the egg, where they can survive up to 12 hours. However, it is in the yolk where the bacteria multiply and thrive.

These and other findings, such as ovarian infections in egg-laying chickens, have led to the concept of transovarian transmission. According to this theory, the infection occurs first in the chicken and is transferred to the egg before the shell is formed.

Researchers also speculate that the infection may be passed from bird to bird in the same flock. For instance, Madden notes that several birds might pick up Salmonella enteritidis from the droppings of rodents and sparrows (known carriers of the organism) and spread it among the others. There are also reported cases, Madden adds, of workers picking up the bacteria on their clothing and transmitting Salmonella from one chicken house to another.

Only after scientists understand how Salmonella is transmitted will they know how to control it. Right now the proposed solution is a long-range plan to prevent spread of the disease by testing flocks and replacing infected ones.

The Voluntary Model State Program

The Northeastern Conference on Avian Diseases in 1987 proposed a voluntary model state program, which FDA and USDA then modified. The program calls for state agriculture, veterinary and health officials to work together to test the poultry flocks in their states for Salmonella enteritidis.

There are different levels of flocks in the poultry industry, starting with the grandparents. Only 800,000 birds in the United States, owned by five companies, make up these primary breeders. They produce the multiplier, or parent, flocks, which in turn produce the 230 million commercial, egg-laying hens.

The main targets of this massive, nationwide testing effort are the grandparent and parent birds, based on the theory that the infection is passed from mother to chick. Egg-laying hens that have produced eggs implicated in outbreaks or that are offspring of infected parent birds also should be tested.

Under the plan, blood samples are taken from 300 birds per age group in a flock. (The number of birds in a flock can vary from a few thousand to a hundred thousand.) If blood tests from any of the chickens are positive, state officials must take cultures from birds in that flock. The plan calls for destruction of infected flocks.

Another provision in the plan calls for routine culturing of the hens cages and litter. Sometimes fertilized eggs don?t hatch, and, under the program, every three months 30 embryos from such eggs should also be cultured.

Under the voluntary plan, eggs from infected flocks are to be pasteurized (broken and heat processed) to destroy the bacteria. There is no evidence that Salmonella enteritidis survives pasteurization. Pasteurized eggs are used in many commercial food products, such as baked goods.

Making Testing Mandatory

The effectiveness of the voluntary program depends upon producers willingness to test and, if necessary, replace infected flocks. However, according to Madden, the increase and spread of the problem suggest that producers and states are not following the program.

Because of this concern, Madden announced at the annual meeting of the U.S. Animal Health Association on Oct. 31 that FDA is working on a regulation to require mandatory testing. The United States would not be the first to have such a program; the United Kingdom instituted a mandatory plan in March 1989.

The testing program that FDA is reviewing would target both breeder and commercial egg-producing flocks. In addition, the proposed regulation under consideration when this article went to press would tighten requirements of the current program by specifying organ specimen size and culturing media used. It would leave little room for discretion, says Madden.

Under the voluntary program, producers could choose to send their samples to industry-owned laboratories certified by state agriculture departments under the National Poultry Improvement Program. (NPIP is a cooperative state-federal agriculture program, established in 1935, that already has in place the mechanism for reporting diseases spread by poultry.) Or, producers could choose to send culture samples to private laboratories certified by USDA under the voluntary model program.

USDA responded to the increasing concern over the Salmonella enteritidis problem by passing an interim rule on Feb. 16. The regulation, which allows for a 60-day comment period but went into effect immediately, makes testing of primary and multiplier flocks mandatory. Much of the work will be done through NPIP.

Backing of Law

FDA also has the backing of law to attack the Salmonella enteritidis problem. The Public Health Service Act authorizes FDA to take steps to prevent the introduction, transmission, or spread of communicable diseases. Under this provision, the agency can issue regulations requiring flock testing and certification before the eggs can be shipped in interstate

commerce. Another law supports the mandatory program. Under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the agency can seize products of a diseased animal. If an egg producer does not want the eggs destroyed, FDA can request a court order requiring that the eggs be pasteurized.

Egg Industry Cooperation

At the same time that FDA and USDA have been working on regulations for mandatory testing, the egg industry has been developing its own quality assurance program. Ken Klippen, vice president of the United Egg Producers (a federation of regional cooperatives representing most of the laying-hen producers in the United States), says that UEP is drafting a new food safety plan. The program will address the Salmonella enteritidis problem and will be a brand new thrust for the industry, says Klippen.

To the producers of the 67 billion eggs marketed in the United States every year, Salmonella enteritidis is an economic as well as a public health issue, as FDA acknowledged at the September 1988 public hearing on Salmonella and eggs.

Resolving the economic issue will be difficult. Most breeders and egg producers have been seeking USDA indemnification, or reimbursement, for flocks that are destroyed. USDA's responsibility, however, is limited to protecting agriculture, livestock and poultry. For instance, while hens infected with Salmonella enteritidis often do not become noticeably sick, in the 1983 avian influenza outbreak sick hens died and there was a significant mortality in the infected flocks. In the avian flu case, says USDA, indemnification was the appropriate response.

67 Billion Eggs

Despite the hard times egg producers are facing, eggs continue to be an inexpensive and important source of protein. According to UEP, the average American eats 250 eggs a year. A survey from the market research group Technical Assessment Systems finds that 90 percent of the population eat eggs in some form each day. (This includes eggs contained in foods like baked items and egg noodles.)

Nearly 5 percent of Americans surveyed said they either ate raw eggs daily or could not specify whether the egg consumed was raw or cooked. Raw and lightly cooked contaminated eggs are causing the illnesses. Thorough cooking kills the bacteria. (See accompanying article, Safe Egg-Cooking Tips.)

According to Madden, a person can become ill after eating only a small amount of a contaminated egg. For instance, he says, one New York incident involved a family who cooked three eggs sunny side up. The yolk of one egg broke onto the other eggs during cooking, and all three family members became ill.

Madden explains that the one broken egg was probably responsible for all three illnesses, as it is extremely unlikely that more than one egg per container would be contaminated. In fact, only 1 in 200 eggs from an infected flock may be contaminated. The risk is even lower for all eggs! Only 1 in 10,000 eggs on the supermarket shelves are likely to be contaminated with Salmonella enteritidis.

Salmonella enteritidis grows quickly, presenting another danger for spread of the disease when a contaminated egg is mixed with clean eggs, such as when eggs are pooled to make scrambled eggs for a group of people. One organism can multiply into millions in an egg stored at 60 degrees for two days. Eggs should always be stored in the refrigerator and only taken out just before use.

Scientists around the country are trying to find out what refrigeration temperatures are most effective for stopping the growth of Salmonella enteritidis in eggs. They are also investigating the cooking times and temperatures required to destroy the bacteria.

FDA and USDA officials are conducting a public health campaign to spread information on what they know so far about safe cooking and handling of eggs. Over 50,000 bulletins have been distributed to consumers, food service establishments, and institutions that take care of people particularly vulnerable to Salmonella enteritidis infections. For copies of the materials, contact USDA, Agricultural Marketing Service/Information Staff, P.O. Box 96456, Washington, D.C. 20090-6456.

Cold weather seems to slow the growth of Salmonella enteritidis. Jack Guzewich, the New York state health department's chief of food protection, notes that in New York 75 percent of outbreaks and 95 percent of illnesses have occurred in the summer. Scientists are working now to solve some of the microbiological mysteries, and officials are trying to resolve the administrative issues before warm weather sets in.

Are we going to wipe out Salmonella enteritidis from the face of the United States? asks USDA researcher Charles Beard, Ph.D. I doubt it, he says. I don't think the rodents and birds would agree to that. Eradicating the bacteria may be impossible, but joint efforts of FDA, USDA, CDC, and industry are aimed at controlling the spread of this newly recognized danger.

Dale Blumenthal is a staff writer for FDA Consumer.

Safety Tips Egg Cooking

The elderly, patients already weakened by serious illness, and people with weakened immune systems (such as persons with AIDS) are at high risk for death or serious illness from Salmonella enteritidis. Nursing home, hospital, and other food institutions serving those in high-risk groups should strictly follow these safe egg guidelines, which also apply to all home preparation.

You can't tell a good egg from a bad egg by the way it smells, tastes or looks. But, these precautions can help minimize risks:

Review recipes, and consider using pasteurized eggs instead of shell eggs whenever possible.

Avoid serving raw eggs and foods containing raw eggs. Caesar salad, Hollandaise sauce, homemade ice cream, homemade eggnog, and homemade mayonnaise are possible carriers of Salmonella enteritidis.

Lightly cooked foods containing eggs, such as soft custards and French toast, may be risky for those in high-risk groups.

Cook eggs thoroughly until both the yolk and white are firm, not runny. These cooking times are now recommended by researchers at Cornell University:

Scrambled 1 minute at 250 degrees Fahrenheit

Poached 5 minutes in boiling water

Sunnyside 7 minutes at 250 F or cook covered 4 minutes at 250 F

Fried, over easy 3 minutes at 250 F on one side, then turn the egg and fry for another minute on the other side

Boiled 7 minutes in boiling water.

Handling Practices

Wash hands with hot, soapy water, and wash and sanitize utensils, equipment (such as blenders), and work areas before and after they come in contact with eggs and uncooked egg-rich foods.

Use only Grade A or better eggs. Avoid eggs that are cracked or leaking.

Discard the egg if any shell falls into the egg.

Leave eggs in their original carton, and store them in the main section of the refrigerator not the egg section in the door, as the temperature in the door is higher.

Never leave eggs or egg-containing foods at room temperature for more than two hours, including preparation and serving (but not cooking) times.

When refrigerating a large amount of a hot egg-rich dish or leftover, divide it into several small shallow containers so it will cool quickly.

Cook scrambled eggs in batches no larger than three quarts. Hold for serving at 140 F or hotter, such as on a steam table. Do not add a batch of just-cooked scrambled eggs to leftover eggs held on a steam table. D.B.

28 Posted on 06/15/2001 05:54:18 PDT by vannrox
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | Top | Last ]


To: Valin

If anybody doesn't believe that this is a "camels nose in the tent" kind of thing, just look at gun laws, or smoking laws, environmental laws. Sit back and take a good "remember" when they said it's only to limit this one little thing and we'll be happy. Well, that's a bunch of piggy poop! It's either freedom or slavery, take your pick.

29 Posted on 06/15/2001 06:02:40 PDT by timydnuc
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | Top | Last ]


To: vannrox

Only 1 in 10,000 eggs on the supermarket shelves are likely to be contaminated with Salmonella enteritidis.

This MORE than enough reason for the federal government to tell me how/what to eat. I understand that any number of people slip on wet grass every year maybe the government needs to send out a set of rules for walking on grass. OPPS, now I just gave them the idea.

Thanks for the post, more than I ever wanted to know about eggs. :-)

30 Posted on 06/15/2001 06:04:18 PDT by Valin
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 28 | Top | Last ]


To: timydnuc

If you like the Yolks runny, ( I will ONLY EAT THEM THAT WAY)Get the eggs POACHED, when the whole friggin world starts ordering that way, restaraunts will worry less about some Lawsuit happy A-Hole(Which is why they aren't screaming about this) and worry more about the time and effort it takes to cook and DELIVER intact a perfectly poached egg.

31 Posted on 06/15/2001 06:07:30 PDT by hobbes1
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 29 | Top | Last ]


To: Squantos

My old man (DOB: 9/8/07) eats two eggs for breakfast every day and red meat at least once a day, sometimes twice. Overall cholesterol count? 110.

Me (DOB: 1/27/44)? Same diet, same cholesterol count.

Except for the fact that he's (or used to be) 5'6" and I'm 6'1", we are doubles. Genes count more than any BS these boobs can think up.

32 Posted on 06/15/2001 06:24:09 PDT by metesky
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 23 | Top | Last ]


To: His_law_is_liberty

And probably does not refrigerate the eggs!

When growing up my aunt and uncle had a daily farm in Northern Louisiana. They also had chickens that roamed everywhere. The highlight of my summer was visiting.

My uncle milked the cows by hand, and he and my aunt liked the milk straight out of the cow and warm.

The eggs were gathered and packed in wooden boxes and were never refrigerated. My aunt had a big wire bowl of fresh eggs on the kitchen table at all times. They were brown, HUGE, and very good. Great sunny side ups! With my aunt's home made bisquits! Yummy!

Never got into that "straight from the cow" milk though!

33 Posted on 06/15/2001 06:24:56 PDT by TexanaRED
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | Top | Last ]


To: Valin

The Navy will no longer serve over easy or sunny side up eggs. (at the base I'm stationed at). I haven't eaten breakfast at the galley since they refused to cook my eggs over easy over a year ago.

34 Posted on 06/15/2001 06:31:37 PDT by aomagrat
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | Top | Last ]


To: Valin

I love eggs and have been eating 'em sunny-side-up for years. During that time I have died almost 120 times from all the bad stuff the "scientists" have found and I know of thousands that have similarly passed away from harmful bacteria!

Pah!

35 Posted on 06/15/2001 06:35:57 PDT by K7TNW
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | Top | Last ]


To: sockmonkey

Real Caesar dressing (my favorite) has raw eggs in it as well.

36 Posted on 06/15/2001 06:38:23 PDT by sheltonmac
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | Top | Last ]


To: hobbes1

This doesn't affect me. I eat mine poached/soft :-)

37 Posted on 06/15/2001 06:43:19 PDT by katykelly
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 31 | Top | Last ]


To: nina0113

ping

38 Posted on 06/15/2001 06:54:17 PDT by Steve0113
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | Top | Last ]


To: Steve0113

I'll tell you one thing... Southern Slaves in the United States in 1850 were allowed to eat "overeasy" style eggs with their grits. Just like they were permitted to fish in the streams without a permit. Like they were allowed to do many things that we no longer have the RIGHT to do.

Since when has the Government been granted the ability to provide the PRIVILEDGE of eating eggs to Americans? They haven't. Therefore, they cannot limit the priviledge.

39 Posted on 06/15/2001 07:48:27 PDT by vannrox
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 38 | Top | Last ]


To: Valin

Is that a Klintoon holdover in the FDA? Seriously, I'm going to have to start ordering eggs sunny-side up now.

40 Posted on 06/15/2001 19:38:39 PDT by steveegg (Been forever since I did that; usually go for over-easy)
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | Top | Last ]


To: vannrox

Jeepers! Thanks for the heads up!!!

41 Posted on 06/15/2001 20:40:38 PDT by Alamo-Girl
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 20 | Top | Last ]


To: TexanaRED

And the yolks are bright orange! Yummy!
Never did the warm milk thing, fresh pulled but chilled.
It's funny when you get a taste of real food, you realize what we've been missing with all this processed crapola they sell us!

42 Posted on 06/16/2001 02:41:45 PDT by His_law_is_liberty
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 33 | Top | Last ]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

[ Top | Latest Posts | Latest Articles | Self Search | Add Bookmark | Post | Abuse | Help! ]

FreeRepublic , LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
Forum Version 2.0a Copyright © 1999 Free Republic, LLC