Eggs and Salmonella
Food safety tips when cooking with eggs
Return to Heath and Nutrition Agent Articles
Cases of salmonella are often traced back to infected eggs. It’s always a good idea to treat all raw eggs as if they are contaminated with salmonella — just like you should with raw chicken. The following guidelines will help keep you safe from foodbourne illness:
- Never eat raw eggs or products made with raw eggs – including cookie dough.
- After cracking eggs, wash hands before continuing on with the recipe to avoid cross contamination.
- Be sure to also wash utensils, equipment, and work surfaces with hot, soapy water before and after they come in contact with raw eggs and raw egg-containing foods.
- Cook eggs until both the yolk and the white are firm. Scrambled eggs should not be runny.
- Casseroles and other dishes containing eggs should be cooked to 160° F. Use a food thermometer to be sure.
- For recipes that call for eggs that are raw or undercooked when the dish is served — like Caesar salad dressing and homemade ice cream — use either shell eggs that have been treated to destroy Salmonella, by pasteurization or another approved method, or pasteurized egg products.
