By now you must have heard about the egg recall issued from Wright County Farms in response to a salmonella outbreak in 17 states. To find out what brands have been recalled, you can visit eggsafety.org and check their Egg Recall – Affected Brands and Description list. You can learn more about the egg salmonella recall on their Recall and Egg Safety - Questions and Answers page, too.
Properly handle and cook your eggs
Even if the eggs in your refrigerator haven’t been recalled, you should still be familiar with proper egg cooking methods. A great resource on all things egg related is incredibleegg.org. They recommend that eggs be cooked until the whites and yolks are firm (not runny). For dishes containing eggs, like quiche or bread pudding, cook them until they reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit. (Salmonella is destroyed by the heat of cooking.)
In addition to thoroughly cooking your eggs, follow these simple food-handling practices:
- Wash your hands before and after handling eggs.
- Thoroughly wash any surfaces, cookware and utensils that come into contact with raw eggs – an important step for avoiding cross-contamination.
- Separate eggs from other foods in your grocery cart and in the refrigerator to prevent cross-contamination.
- Keep eggs in their original carton. Do not put them in the egg tray in your refrigerator. This too will help with cross-contamination.
- If you use cloth or reusable grocery bags, you should wash them after use.
- Keep eggs in the main section (not the door) of the refrigerator at a temperature between 33 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Eggs left at room temperature should be discarded after two hours, or one hour in warm weather.
Get more safe food handling tips on the Incredible Egg website.
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