For safety's sake, perishable foods should not be left at room temperature for more than two hours. Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold. Holiday Specials Add to these challenges favorite holiday foods that carry their own set of risks. Traditional eggnog made with raw eggs is a common one. Fresh eggs may contain bacteria that can cause an intestinal infection called salmonellosis.
Cooking can destroy the bacteria.
Bartleson recalls an outbreak three years ago in which four people at a holiday family gathering in Washington state got sick after drinking eggnog made with raw eggs. The risk associated with the raw eggs was compounded by the fact that the eggnog had been left at room temperature for several hours before being consumed, Bartleson says. Safe alternatives are the pasteurized eggnog beverages sold in grocery dairy cases, although they, too, should be kept refrigerated. Eating cookie dough or batters with raw eggs carries the same risk as eggnog made with raw eggs. It also may contain an acidifying agent that kills bacteria.