Australian Food Safety Week 2019

Australian Food Safety Week 2019: eggs safety awareness

From 9^th to 16^th November this year, The Australian Food Safety Week campaign embraces the theme “Excellent Eggs and handle them safely” emphasising the importance of local consumers to manage it without any health risks.

Eggs are highly nutritious and low-cost, but eggshells can be contaminated by Salmonella when they are laid: this brings a particularly genuine concern when producing uncooked dishes, sauces and dressings containing raw or lightly cooked eggs. Uncooked desserts like mousses and tiramisu, fresh mayonnaise and aioli also seat the capacity of containing risk.

Also, its advised dishes containing uncooked eggs should not be served to vulnerable people such as pregnant, small children, people with compromised immune systems who are at higher risk from food poisoning. In such a case, it’s reasonable to avoid them unless consumers make sure they were pasteurised in a manufacturing capacity.

Follow these tips to and handle the eggs safely and minimise food poisoning risks

• Do not buy cracked or dirty eggs. These are more likely to be contaminated with Salmonella. Bring the presence of any eggs like this to the attention of the seller as it against food safety legislation to sell cracked and dirty eggs. If eggs get a crack in them while you handle or transport them, it’s safest to discard them.
• Follow good hygiene practices when handling eggs, even when they look clean, to avoid cross-contamination from the eggshell surface to the egg contents or other foods you are handling that is not going to be cooked.
• If you accidentally drop pieces of shell into your egg mixture while preparing food, it could contaminate the mixture and it will need thorough cooking. Remove the shell pieces with a clean spoon or fork.
• Wash your hands with soap and running water and dry thoroughly after handling eggs so you don’t contaminate other food.
• If you are not going to cook the eggs further, don’t separate the yolk from the white using the shell as that could contaminate either part of the raw egg. Invest in an egg separator.
• Prepare raw egg foods just before you are going to consume them and if you need to store the dish refrigerate it immediately at 5°C or below, so the bacteria cannot grow.
• Keep your eggs refrigerated and store them away from ready to eat foods. They will keep better if you store them in the cardboard box you purchased them and you will be able to check the best before the date and have access to the information you need in the rare case there is a food recall.

See the original article and more information about food safety advice for the general public at the Food Safety Information Council’s website.

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