Safety and Quality of Eggs and Egg Products

From 1996 to 2002, 75% of all food-borne illnesses caused by Salmonella enteritidis involved eggs or foods containing eggs. Contamination of eggs may occur on the inside as well as the outside of the shell. Proper refrigeration, cooking and handling should prevent most egg safety problems.

1. Don’t eat raw eggs or foods containing raw eggs (e.g., milk shakes, Caesar salad, Hollandaise sauce, homemade ice cream, etc.).
2. For foods that are not cooked that require raw eggs, use a cooked egg base (heat to 160°F) or pasteurized egg products.
3. Don’t keep eggs, including Easter eggs, out of the refrigerator more than two hours. Leftover eggs and egg-rich foods should be served immediately after cooking or refrigerated in shallow containers. For optimum quality use within three to five days.
4. Buy eggs from refrigerated storage areas and do not purchase eggs with cracked shells.
5. Transport eggs home immediately and store in the refrigerator in the grocery carton. For optimum quality store in the coldest part of the refrigerator, not in the door. Eggs should be refrigerated at temperatures between 33° and 40°F. Do not wash eggs.
6. For optimum quality; use raw shell eggs within three to five weeks, hard-cooked eggs will keep refrigerated for one week, and use leftover yolks or whites within four days.
7. Egg whites can be frozen alone for up to one year. Egg yolks do not freeze well. For optimum quality, use frozen eggs and frozen cartons of egg substitutes within one year.
8. Handle eggs safely by washing hands, utensils, equipment, work areas with warm, soapy water before and after contact with eggs and egg rich foods.
9. Hard cooked eggs should be safe for everyone to eat. They should be refrigerated within two hours of cooking and used within one week. Those “at risk” (very young, elderly, HIV infected individuals and others with chronic diseases) should avoid eating soft-cooked or runny eggs.