As Salmonella may be found both the outside and inside of eggs that look perfectly normal, it is necessary to handle them correctly and not eat them raw. Here there is some advice from SafeConsume to keep you safe:
- Do not buy cracked or dirty eggs.
- Keep eggs refrigerated as storing eggs adequately prevents growth of Salmonella.
- To be sure that your refrigerator works at the right temperature, use a fridge thermometer and adjust the temperature, if necessary, at 4°C.
- Take into consideration the date on the egg carton. Raw eggs will maintain their quality for about 3 weeks after the "sell by", "use by", or "best by" date on the carton, assuming continuous refrigeration, but try to consume the eggs till the indicated date. It is best to throw out old eggs than to risk sickness.
- Inside the fridge, keep eggs in their original package and store on a shelf, not on the door.
- After contact with raw eggs, wash hands and all food contact surface areas (e.g., counter tops, cutting boards, utensils, dishes) with soap and water.
- Do not let raw eggs come into contact with food that is going to be eaten raw.
- Do not eat raw eggs. For recipes that call for raw or lightly cooked eggs, consider using pasteurized shell eggs or pasteurized egg products.
- Cook eggs thoroughly as cooking kills salmonellae.
- Use only food-grade dyes on Easter eggs.
- After decorating the eggs, keep them in the refrigerator, and remove them from the refrigerator a few minutes before consumption.
- Consume hard-boiled eggs within one week as they spoil more quickly than uncooked eggs.
- Do not eat peeled hard-boiled eggs that have been out of refrigeration more than 2 hours.
- Discard eggs that served as decorations.
- Refrigerate promptly the leftovers containing eggs. If you lost track of time and you believe food has been left out too long, it is best to discard it.
Even exposure to Salmonella is lower along the year than at Easter, keep these practices all year round.
Safe Easter from SafeConsume!