20001208 Egg fans uneasy about FDA's 'No over easy' advice

Egg fans uneasy about FDA's 'No over easy' advice

December 8, 2000

In this story:

Waiter! Take back these eggs!

How risky are soft-boiled eggs?

Reducing the risk

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By Elizabeth Cohen CNN Medical Correspondent

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- So you order your eggs sunny-side up? Like to sop up the runny yolk with a nice thick piece of toast?

Stop right there. The U.S. government says your breakfast is all wrong.

"You just need to cook your eggs thoroughly -- no sunny side up, no over easy," said Dr. Jane Henney, FDA Commissioner. "This is a case when it's better to be safe than sorry."

Because high temperatures kill salmonella bacteria, the Food and Drug Administration has recently ordered instructions on cartons of eggs telling consumers to cook them "until yolks are firm." But federal health authorities admit this is going to be a hard sell.

"These recipes are traditional -- people wake up to them in the morning. Changing those behaviors is a long and challenging prospect," said Dr. Robert Tauxe, chief of the foodborne and diarrheal disease branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But change them they must, Tauxe said, because one in every 100 U.S. consumers could be exposed to an egg contaminated with salmonella. The CDC estimates that in 1997, tainted eggs caused 90 deaths and 200,000 illnesses.

[…]

This egg controversy is nothing new to New Jersey, where in 1992 the Health Department made it illegal to serve undercooked or raw eggs. Violators could be fined $25 to $100. Hysteria resulted. Consumers bemoaned the governmental intrusion into their breakfast tables. Politicians pointed fingers. The law was quickly changed.

[…]

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RELATED SITES:

FDA - Egg Safety

CDC - Salmonella enteritidis Infection

American Egg Board

Egg Nutrition Center

Egg safety tips

Even light cooking will begin to destroy any salmonella or other bacteria that might be present in an egg, but proper cooking is necessary to complete the job.

Egg dishes should be cooked slowly over gentle heat to ensure even heat penetration.

For scrambled eggs, omelets and frittatas: cook until the eggs are thickened and no visible liquid egg remains.

Cook fried eggs until the whites are completely set and the yolks begin to thicken but are not hard. To increase the internal temperature the eggs reach, cover the pan with a lid or baste or turn the eggs.

Soft-cooked eggs should be placed in water and heated until the water is at a full, rolling boil. Turn off the heat, cover the pan and let the eggs sit in the hot water about 5 minutes.

Poached eggs should be heated in gently simmering water until the whites are set and the yolks begin to thicken but not harden -- about 3 to 5 minutes.

Hard-boiled eggs easily reach internal temperatures sufficient to kill bacteria. Still, hard-cooked can spoil more quickly than raw eggs. They should be refrigerated promptly after cooking and used within a week.

For soft custards, including cream pie and eggnog, cook egg mixture until it is thick enough to coat a metal spoon with a thin film and a thermometer reads 160 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. After cooking, cool quickly by setting the pan in ice water and stirring. Then refrigerate, covered, for at least an hour.

Source: American Egg Board

Read the entire article here: http://archives.cnn.com/2000/FOOD/news/12/08/egg.labeling/