Pasteurized Eggs
I love to bake. Cakes, cookies, pies. Chocolate Espresso Mousse is one of my special recipes for special occasions. I never had to worry about eating uncooked cookie dough, or serving mousse and cakes decorated with colorful royal icing. Until my cousin married and his wife got pregnant, I didn’t really give consuming raw eggs a second thought. Afterall, I live in a country where raw eggs mixed with Sarsi is considered a health tonic.
But when my cousin announced that they were expecting their first child, I had to reconsider many of my party staples, from carpaccio to seared tuna to chocolate mousse. Salmonella poisoning is one of the leading causes of miscarriage in pregnant women and likewise, illness or even death to small children and the elderly with weakened immune system. I turned to thinking how I can make food safer for my (extended) family. Looking into the pantry, the first thing that caught my eyes were a tray of eggs begging me to whip them up into a fluffy meringue or a creamy mousse. I remembered my 6-month stint in Singapore a few years back and my first encounter with pasteurized eggs.
Pasteurized eggs eliminates the risk of Salmonella and other dangerous bacteria and yet, still retains the taste and form of farm-fresh eggs. Considered to be as safe as pasteurized milk, these eggs can be used in many dishes where uncooked or undercooked eggs are used. Sauces like hollandaise and fresh mayonnaise can be safely consumed by pregnant women, children and individuals with weakened immune systems.
According to safeeggs.com:
- Salmonella causes illnesses in a reported 1.4 million people a year and infects about one out of every 20,000 eggs produced in the U.S.
- Salmonella is the number one cause of food poisoning in the U.S.
- Salmonella was much more likely to be associated with egg-containing foods. The eggs involved were almost always U.S. Grade A commercial shell eggs from many different source farms, which were typically not fully cooked.
- The Salmonella enteritidis strain develops in chickens and is passed on to the egg when it is laid.
- Salmonella organisms are often not eliminated by standard methods of food preparation.
- A recent two-year government study pinpointed cookie dough and other foods containing raw or undercooked eggs as the leading cause of food-borne illness outbreaks.
- Eggs with Salmonella look and taste entirely normal.
- Most at risk for illness from Salmonella are children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems, about 30 percent of the U.S. population overall.
Safeeggs.com outlines their patented technology in pasteurizing in-shell eggs by way of controlled waterbath. Check with your local suppliers and see how you can keep your loved ones healthy and safe, while enjoying the many ways eggs can be prepared. Afterall, they say that a chef can prepare eggs in 101 ways. How many ways have you tried it?
