Whenever egg safety is discussed in our profession, it usually revolves around three topics: various controls and methods of protecting against Salmonella on the farm; the use of pasteurization or some other silver bullet to decontaminate shell eggs being brought to market; and, the third is our approach to egg safety in retail food establishments. None of these discussion points, however, are easily resolved or ever come to a definitive conclusion.
On the issue of protection on the farm, there is no mandatory set of national standards that fully satisfies consumer groups or the egg industry, and we really are not seeing anything being promulgated in the near future. There still exist numerous unrelated agencies involved with farm-to-fork oversight of shell eggs and egg products resulting in questionable continuity of safety oversight. The President’s Council on Food Safety has been looking at this issue for the past eight years with no real resolution. Indeed, there are numerous initiatives that, if finally implemented, would significantly reduce the risk of foodborne illness resulting from infected shell eggs. But until this becomes reality, we are still faced with a potentially hazardous food that historically we view a bit differently than a hamburger patty. We seem to be a bit more cavalier with eggs. There are some of us who are lucky enough to have found a farmer whose hen house is Salmonella-free, but the eggs do not come without a price. So, for the time being, we still must protect the consumer.
On the issue of shell egg decontamination, we are miles apart. As a nation, we consume close to 80 billion eggs a year, of which approximately 30% are in the form of processed egg products. For the most part, the processed eggs do not really enter the equation. We really enjoy our eggs in those cute little individual packages (otherwise known as shells). After all, civilization has grown accustomed to these incredible edibles without interruption for the past 5,000 years. That still leaves approximately 56 billion shell eggs requiring pasteurization or some other process that would render them free of Salmonella and safe to consume raw or partially cooked. In the best of all worlds, this is still decades, if not a century away from reality. So, while we wait on emerging technology to solve the egg safety problem, we still must protect the consumer. At this point, I think we all agree that a disease-free hen house is a bit more realistic and probably far more cost-effective.
Finally, if my calculations are correct in assuming that one in 20,000 eggs may be infected with Salmonella enteritidis, we’re looking at about four million eggs per year that have the potential of causing infection. And, if I read the literature correctly, this number continues along a slightly upward trend for a variety of reasons I best leave to others who are more knowledgeable about the global impact. Our concern is keeping those four million eggs from doing any harm on a local level—in a restaurant or at home. My public health colleagues and I realize that in spite of these figures and the lack of any uniform standards or cost-effective decontamination technology, the picture isn’t all that bleak.
Many of us don’t really mind the lottery odds of getting ill from eating raw or undercooked shell eggs. In fact, in terms of disease potential the odds are decidedly better than enjoying a rare hamburger gently seasoned with cow pat, or a plate of succulent bivalves harvested from the Calexico New River. We (and this includes the retail industry) continue to enjoy runny eggs for breakfast, freshly prepared hollandaise sauce on crisp, steamed vegetables and home-made eggnog for the holidays without unusual dire consequences. We don’t have large numbers of the population regularly succumbing to salmonellosis resulting from the consumption of raw or undercooked shell eggs; although, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are sporadic local outbreaks particularly affecting those who are vulnerable for some heightened risk of contracting an illness. While I don’t mean to understate the problem, or minimize its serious nature, we somehow do the best we can with what we have. At this point, we generally discuss methods of code enforcement.
To be sure, the restaurant and regulatory communities have managed to increase these odds in favor of safety through the application of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), employee awareness (including hand washing), regulatory oversight and good kitchen practices. However, when we sanitarians compare notes, we find shell eggs in virtually every type of restaurant we encounter, and we still come across shell egg handling and preparation practices that make us cringe and put a new meaning to the word “risk.” We also see some enforcement policies and practices that are totally contrived without scientific rhyme or reason.
We Don’t Have to Walk on Eggshells
Here is the conundrum. Shell eggs are a potentially hazardous food. But unlike chicken, sausage, cooked beans or egg products, it’s not easy to take the internal temperature of a shell egg without breaking it. Actually, we need to break several in keeping with good sampling protocol. An infrared thermometer is a useful tool for screening the external temperatures but measuring the actual internal temperatures is a bit elusive. We have to rely more heavily on time, observation of storage, preparation and handling, as well as use surrogates to evaluate shell egg safety than we are able to rely on any direct measurements—unless the eggs are out of their cute little containers. To be fair, we need to evaluate shell eggs with the same rigor as we do other potentially hazardous foods (PHFs). So, for all intent and purpose, here are some common-sense things we look for in our inspections to protect the consumer:
1. Shell eggs and HACCP are an excellent combination. Unfortunately, we don’t often see eggs in relationship to critical control points, largely because eggs are so versatile and, except for the breakfast entrée, are primarily used as ingredients. In those rare instances where we do see a working HACCP program for eggs, we know there is attention to detail and all PHFs are well managed at that facility.
2. In conducting a menu review, we look to see that egg safe recipes are used. This includes meringues and other egg dishes where the eggs are not hard cooked. We look for the same adequate cooking temperatures that are applied to all PHFs to be used any time when raw eggs are part of the ingredients (≤160°F).
3. We look to see that the eggs are clean, sound and odor-free. If eggs are used as a main ingredient, we encourage using only Grade AA or A eggs. While this is not necessarily essential, egg grades correspond to the age of the egg. The higher the grade, generally the fresher the egg. We also look for the pack date (≤28 days) and monitor on-site rotation using the first in, first out (FIFO) method.
4. We look to see that shell eggs are stored in their case and kept under refrigeration (≤45°F) at all times, from receipt to their ultimate use. We generally like seeing shell eggs stored in the same refrigeration units used to store dairy products. Storage conditions should be dry; egg flats or cartons that show signs of moisture contamination (both past and present) are highly suspect and we generally deem the eggs stored under these conditions as unsafe. More often than not, when we find flats or cartons that are wet and the eggs have been sitting in contact with the moisture for any time, we ask that they are voluntarily destroyed as a safety precaution.