Egg shells

FryBoy

New member
Heat does not kill all pathogens.
It's better to know and understand what your're dealing with with regards to bacteria, viruses and toxins than simply saying 'cook everything to xxx temperature'.
Eggs from a reputable poulterer can safely be eaten raw by most people providing you use caution with the shell.
True, but heat does kill most bacteria, including the major threat in eggs, which is salmonella (and which I thought was the subject of this thread).

That's one reason the FDA specifically recommends that consumers "Avoid eating raw eggs and products made with raw eggs such as Caesar salad, homemade egg nog, homemade mayonnaise, Hollandaise sauce, homemade ice cream, and other products containing raw or lightly cooked eggs."
 

PieSusan

Tortes Are Us
Super Site Supporter
FryBoy, you are right in your desire to be absolutely safe to the best of your ability. The FDA recommends exactly what you posted. They also recommend to cook the crap out of chicken and turkey and not to eat rare meat.
However, I agree with VeraBlue. I don't do it often but there are occasions when I want a real caesar salad or a proper chocolate mousse. It is why I am very careful where I shop. I have to trust my food purveyors and since I live in a nice area I am very lucky. I like my hamburgers rare to medium rare, the same as my steaks. I hate it when I go to a restaurant and they cook things to death.

Further the FDA changes its mind from time to time. At one time, people were taught to wash/rinse their meat or chicken before cooking. Now they tell you not to because it is possible that you can be spreading pathogens like salmonella in your kitchen by doing so if they are present.

After 60 minutes did their expose on chicken years ago, I couldn't eat it. It took a very long time before I became comfortable with it again. After the scare with ground meat, I was very careful where I purchased it. I didn't want to eat it anymore either but I do have to eat.

Further, I learned with my father when he was incredibly sick that there are sometimes quality of life considerations. He was willing to take certain risks that made me uncomfortable because I was fearful, loved him and understood what could happen but as a competent adult he was free to take those risks.
 

FryBoy

New member
My only point is that there are genuine risks involved. Whether one chooses to take those risks is a personal matter, but it bugs me that some people are willing to make those choices for others. As VeraBlue said, you need to know what you're dealing with and act responsibly.

That said, IMHO only unrepentant communists recommend cooking beef beyond medium-rare.
 

waybomb

Well-known member
See the food sickness thread. Once you have to collect your own stool twice a week for the health department will you only understand why you cook everything to lethality. It is not worth the risk. You CAN DIE!
 

VeraBlue

Head Mistress
Gold Site Supporter
See the food sickness thread. Once you have to collect your own stool twice a week for the health department will you only understand why you cook everything to lethality. It is not worth the risk. You CAN DIE!

I appreciate your point...but I'm not willing to cede the point. With responsibility and caution and proper techniques and procedures there are ways to eat potentially hazardous foods safely.

Regarding your poops....I'm the one who posted that a powder should be invented for the elimination of poops...:wink:
 

Maverick2272

Stewed Monkey
Super Site Supporter
I just read the rest of that, no they can't have my homemade ice cream or homemade eggnog either!!
 

waybomb

Well-known member
With responsibility and caution and proper techniques and procedures there are ways to eat potentially hazardous foods safely.

I have to respectfully disagree when it comes to eating raw food. There are really only a few ways to guarantee wholesomeness - cooking to lethality, or iradiation. You can also use high pressure pasteuization on some foods. Even performing pathogen testing does not indicate that the piece you will eat is free of pathogens - the test only indicates on the piece you tested.

You can reduce risk by using techniques and procedures, but you can not eliminate the risk of consuming pathogens by using techniques and procedures.

If an egg is positive for salmonella, there is no way you can see the bacteria. I don't care how you handle it if the pathogen is there - unless you carry the salmonella to lethality, it is there, and it will be in you when you consume it.

I do believe you can buy high pressure pasteuized seperated eggs though. Then you use the techniques and procedures to avoid letting the eggs coming into contact with foreign pathogens.

ps - fwiw, I do make my Christmas eggnog with regular untreated eggs. I sometimes break my own rules.
 

joec

New member
Gold Site Supporter
You could also not worry about it and eventually build up an immunity to much of this stuff. Now that could mean some though times however.
 

FryBoy

New member
You could also not worry about it and eventually build up an immunity to much of this stuff. Now that could mean some though times however.
I don't believe humans are able to develop immunity to things like Salmonella, Listeria, E.coli O157, Campylobacter, or Clostridium Perfringens. If they could, there would be little risk of subsequent infections.

Again, it's one this to delude yourself into taking unnecessary risks, but quite another to decide to expose your friends, family kids, or customers to such risks.

Russian roulette is survived 5 out of 6 times, but the fact that you survive 5 times doesn't mean the 6th time is safe.
 

waybomb

Well-known member
^^^ A pathogen is a pathogen. If it gets in your body, you will get sick.

You just don't know what it is like until you've experienced it. This is not simply like a stomach flu.
 
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