Queensland Health

Food safety—Salmonella
Egg safety for the consumer
Recent foodborne illness outbreaks have been
associated with foods that have been preparedusing raw and lightly cooked eggs and egg
products. Examples of foods that contain raw
or lightly cooked egg include mayonnaise, aioli,scrambled eggs, custard, cheesecake, eggnog,deep fried ice-cream and mousse.
Never use cracked or dirty eggs in the preparation offood. Dirty eggs may have harmful Salmonella bacteriaon the shell. Cracked eggs allow Salmonella to enter andgrow inside the egg. However even eggs with clean, uncracked shells
can pose a risk if handled incorrectly.
Cross contamination can also occur when handling eggs and equipment and benches should becleaned and sanitised to avoid contamination of ready-to-eat foods.

Raise !
awareness ofSalmonella

Salmonella

Salmonella is the most commonly reported bacteria responsible
for foodborne illness outbreaks and is usually associatedwith eggs and egg products. Salmonella infection causes
gastroenteritis (commonly known as ‘gastro’) and symptoms caninclude headache, fever, stomach cramps, diarrhoea, nausea andvomiting which can last days or weeks.

Anyone can be affected by Salmonella, but certain people are at greater risk of severe illness including pregnant
women, young children (under 5 years), older adults (over 60 years) and people with weakened immune systems.

Egg safety
DO NOT wash eggs

Washing eggs allows bacteria to move from the outside of the shell
to inside the egg. Never wash eggs and throw away all dirty eggs.

Storage of eggs!
Remember

It is important never to leave foods thatcontain raw egg out of the fridge for any
longer than four hours in total. If notconsumed within a day, throw it out.

When storing eggs:• eggs and egg products should be stored under refrigeration,
to minimise the growth of harmful Salmonella bacteria• store eggs in their original carton in the fridge and do not use eggs that are out of date
• when transporting foods that contain raw egg, pack in an insulated cooler with enough ice,
frozen blocks or a frozen juice box to keep them cold
• don’t put the insulated cooler in the car boot—carry it inside an air-conditioned vehicle.

Minimising the risks of foodcontaining raw egg• open the carton and check the eggs look clean andare not cracked before purchasing

Handling of eggs
The following precautions should be taken whenhandling eggs:• wash hands before and after handling eggs

• only make food that contains raw egg products on
the day you plan to eat it• keep eggs and egg products refrigerated until
required• keep prepared eggs refrigerated until you are readyto used them• ensure utensils, equipment and other food contact
surfaces such as benches are appropriately cleaned
and sanitised after handling eggs and egg products• never leave foods that contain raw egg out of thefridge for any longer than four hours in total• if the food is not consumed within a day, throw
it out• to avoid cross contamination, cartons that containcracked eggs should be discarded and not reused.

• use separate containers for each batch of foodcontaining an egg product.

Ensurehigh hygiene
standards

Separating eggs
To minimise cross contamination egg shells should not
be used to separate the egg white from the egg yolk as
Salmonella bacteria on the surface of the shell can betransferred to the contents of the egg.
Separating eggs using bare hands is also a risk as hands
may become contaminated with Salmonella bacteria
resulting in cross contamination. Use a clean egg
separator so that if Salmonella bacteria are present on
the shell, it won’t contaminate the egg yolk or egg white.

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x

RememberHands should be washed and dried
before and after handling eggs.

i Information
Cross contamination
Avoid contaminating other foods by using
separate utensils and equipment for different
types of food.

QH688 12/15

Cutting boards, utensils and equipment should
to be thoroughly washed with hot, soapy watereach time they are used.

Queensland Health—Health Conditions
Directory: conditions.health.qld.gov.au
For health advice:• contact your local doctor or nearest
public health clinic• call 13 HEALTH (13 43 25 84)

www.health.qld.gov.au