While most of us get upset over chemicals and processing of food, the biggest risk to our health is actually food poisoning. The most common bacteria in eggs is called Salmonella enteriditis. New labels on egg cartons will tell people to keep eggs refrigerated and to cook eggs until the yolks are firm.
Cold temperatures slow the growth of bacteria.
Finally, a plan to control bacteria on the farm will be developed in coming months. Eggs are infected while they are forming inside the hen, so washing does not get rid of the bacteria, but there are proteins in fresh eggs that prevent bacteria from multiplying for about 3 weeks. Estimates of illnesses from eggs are probably not accurate, but government figures put them at 310,000 annually with about 100 deaths. Now when nutrition news gets confusing, there IS a place to go to get the real story. Our FREE daily email newsletter, Nutrition News Focus, helps you make sense of it all.