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"
Can
you get salmonella from raw eggs?
"
Dear
Anne and Sue,
Some people are concerned with the threat of salmonella
associated with raw eggs. Should we still be concerned
in this day and age? Also, someone told me as long as
you add lemon juice to an uncooked egg, you're fine.
They even said lemon juice will fry an egg. Is this
true? It sounds pretty far-fetched!
Thank You,
Summer Mayes
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Thanks for the question, Summer. You've asked one many
people wonder about. In order for salmonella to cause
illness, several conditions must exist. First, there must
be salmonella present in the food. It's highly unusual
to find bacteria inside eggs because they have some very
sophisticated defense mechanisms, which make them hostile
to bacterial growth. According to the American Egg Board,
an average of 1 in every 20,000 eggs in the United States
might contain the bacteria.
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Secondly, the bacteria must be present in numbers large
enough to cause illness. So the food must support the
growth of salmonella and so must the temperature (the
"danger zone" is between 40-140° F / 4-60° C).
Thus, eggs have the potential of being a hospitable environment,
and raw and lightly cooked dishes present the greatest
risk. It's true that salmonella won't grow in a highly
acidic recipe with a pH of 4.0 or less, but the American
Egg Board cautions against relying on acidic ingredients
to destroy bacteria since there are too many variables
at work. Acidic ingredients don't have a constant pH.
Neither do eggs, since they become more alkaline as they
age. And perhaps most key is that few kitchens have a
pH meter for testing.
To be safe, children under ten, infants, pregnant women,
and those whose immune systems are compromised, should
eat only dishes made from fully cooked shell eggs or pasteurized
eggs/egg products. You can alter recipes containing raw
eggs using the methods suggested on
the
American Egg Board's website
.
If you don't fall into the above categories, ask yourself,
"What is an acceptable level of risk for me?" Unless you
live in an area where there has been an outbreak of salmonella
in eggs, the American Egg Board estimates the likelihood
of an egg containing salmonella is approximately five
one-thousandths of one percent. At this rate they suggest,
if you're an average consumer, you might encounter a contaminated
egg once every 84 years!
As to lemon juice "frying" an egg, try it and see. But
be patient—it may take several days. And you may
need so much lemon juice that you'll have no appetite
for this "fried" egg. An egg fried in a medium-hot pan
sounds a whole lot more appealing.
Anne & Sue
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