Who else is scared of raw eggs?

[Sim]

Oh Golly Andie! Sorry if I caused an argument by bringing up the dreaded Salmonella subject! I should have kept my big mouth shut!

[riv_mum]

Eggs dont actually worry me that much. I usually have one carton in the pantry for baking and mayo and one in the fridge as backup. In food safety training we are told anything that contains the "bad" foods which includes eggs need to be stored below 5 deg or heated above 60 degrees to kill any salmonella. So if you store your mayo etc below 5 deg then it should be ok.
We are exposed to all sorts bacteria everywhere which is not a bad thing and actually helps most of the time unless we are already immuno comprimised for some reason.
Its happened several times now when my hubby has had food poisoning but we have all eaten the same foods and the rest of us are fine.

[andiesenji]

Oh Golly Andie! Sorry if I caused an argument by bringing up the dreaded Salmonella subject! I should have kept my big mouth shut!

Don't worry about it.  It doesn't bother me, I love a bit of good verbal sparring, but see no need to clutter up this forum with endless back-and-forth  posts that really have little effect.  I'm not going to change my mind and it is obvious my opinion is being challenged and I simply don't care.

I do find it interesting that there is such reliance on the USDA and FSIS  when both entities totally missed the boat and ignored warnings about the peanut butter plant last year that caused much sickness and several deaths.

I also think it is ironic that the USDA and the FDA continue to not only allow but actually encourage dairy farmers in the US to use the bovine growth hormone that increases milk production when there is a huge surplus of milk.  This is especially difficult to understand because rBGH has been outlawed in every other dairy-producing country in the world!   Canada does not allow the importation of milk or milk products unless it can be certified free of rBGH.
There have been numerous independent studies, some ongoing, that show there can be long-term problems to humans from this stuff (including childhood obesity) but USDA reports their findings (studies underwritten by Monsanto, who makes millions off the stuff) "do not bear out these results."   

[cathy79]

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this lively debate.  I think this voicing of opinions /facts it is a very healthy process and has given me lots to consider.

At the end of the day, we all have to decide as individuals what we will do for our families and live with whatever consequences, and I appreciate all this information.

[baf65]

well this is a somewhat timely thread as i just saw this on the Perth Now news site.....i think i will be staying away from raw eggs!!!!


MORE than 20 people have suffered food poisoning and many others are at risk, amid revelations that an iconic Perth pub is at the centre of a salmonella outbreak from suspect eggs.

At least 23 people are known to have contracted gastroenteritis after buying meals with an egg-based aoli dipping sauce at East Fremantle's Left Bank hotel in late January.

Health authorities are investigating two other Perth restaurants for similar egg-related salmonella outbreaks, and the number of people affected could be much higher.

[Thermomixer]

Must say that I have not had any experience, but I cannot see why you could not pasteurise eggs at home without cooking them if they can do it commercially.  As Andie says, Harold McGee explains the method and it is all about timing and temperature.

I know that I had read somewhere ages ago that the vinegar was suposed to reduce the numbers of bugs in the yolks, but can't remember where I saw it - so it may not be true.

[Nay-nay]

I've herd that too Thermomixer - but it was to do with adding vinegar to a meat marinde for BBQ - suppose to kill some 'bugs'.

but USDA reports their findings (studies underwritten by Monsanto, who makes millions off the stuff) "do not bear out these results."  

MONSANTO!! That's a whole other soap box - They are EVIL, evil!!!   

[andiesenji]

but USDA reports their findings (studies underwritten by Monsanto, who makes millions off the stuff) "do not bear out these results."  

MONSANTO!! That's a whole other soap box - They are EVIL, evil!!!   

My sentiments exactly!   Far too often the USDA seems to turn a blind eye to big business misdeeds but crunch heavily on small independent businesses and farmers.   I don't believe much of anything in any of their  bulletins.  Too many have been proved inaccurate and at times, designed to mislead consumers.

Here's a particularly egregious example for those of us who rely on organic foods actually being organic. 

An article published in December 2008
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kerry-trueman/lets-ask-marion-are-the-u_b_153831.html

Note the third paragraph.

The USDA has been a direct cause of the undermining of reliance on the organic certification. 


I've been involved in breeding and showing dogs almost all of my life and my grandfather did before me.   I love dogs and believe they should always be treated humanely.   Unfortunately some people regard them as only a commodity. 
For almost fifty years I have been supporting legislation to stop the puppy farms (mostly in the midwest) and it seems that every time a municipality or a state enacts a law designed to curtail these people, the USDA, who is charged with inspecting such places, they being instead to try to undermine these laws and the result is that puppy mills are as active as ever.  Now we are going after retail businesses.  If pet shops can't sell puppy mill dogs, then there will be no demand. 

[cookie1]

MONSANTO!! That's a whole other soap box - They are EVIL, evil!!!   
[/quote]

Ooh I really have to agree with that statement. Especially with their GM stuff.

[Nay-nay]

Yeah everything from GM to Nutri-sweet and lots in between- Evil I say!! Sorry I've got off topic! I was not the least bit scared of eggs until I read this thread - now I'll really think twice before adding eggs to the kids smoothy in the morning! 

[andiesenji]

Yeah everything from GM to Nutri-sweet and lots in between- Evil I say!! Sorry I've got off topic! I was not the least bit scared of eggs until I read this thread - now I'll really think twice before adding eggs to the kids smoothy in the morning! 

You can beat them separately, heat them until the mixture reaches 65 C., which is over the temp needed to kill salmonella but not high enough to cook them, then add them to the smoothies.   
You can even do it ahead of time and refrigerate the mixture.   Use an instant read thermometer to check the temp throughout the mixture. 

[Nay-nay]

That sounds easy enough! 

[I Love Bimby!]

What an interesting thread. Thank you everyone for your honesty.

After reading the likes of Michael Pollan's 'In Defence of Food' etc, I hard it hard to believe many of the studies that are published due to alterier motives.  Did anyone watch The Office on the ABC. I only caught one episode where the goverment were to change policies on children's foods in the interest of childrens health. Due to all the major industries being major sponsors of the political parties, the government didn't have anywhere to move had to do an about face and not change anything..... although it's "fiction" I believe there is a good serving of fact in there too.

As to raw egg, I don't like it just for the texture. I make the egg mayo and never had any problems. Personally I cook egg till it's "dehydrated" as XH used to tell me and "rubbery" too. But that's just a texture thing.  And I'm never able to add a raw egg to a smoothie in fear that I'll feel that 'slimy' texture YUK! 

Thanks Andi for some very interesting information. You really are an amazing source of information.