Nebraskans are being reminded to take precautions, but don’t panic, when it comes to cooking and eating eggs. An Iowa egg factory is expanding its recall of potentially salmonella-tainted eggs to 380-million eggs.
While hundreds of people were sickened in several states, no illnesses are reported in Nebraska, though the eggs were likely distributed in Nebraska. Epidemiologist Dr. Patty Quinlisk says to thoroughly cook your eggs and you should be fine.
Dr. Quinlisk says, “Cooking eggs until the whites of the eggs are truly white and the yolk of the egg is no longer runny will kill any bacteria that might have gotten into there and will, of course, make it safe.” If your carton is on the recall list, she says the best thing you can do is take the eggs back to where you bought them and get a refund.
Health officials say hundreds of illnesses are confirmed in California, Colorado, Minnesota and North Carolina, with more cases suspected in a half-dozen other states. In some of the cases, restaurants were serving dishes that involved raw eggs, which Quinlisk says is almost always a no-no.
“Eggs, just like raw chicken and raw meat, can be occasionally contaminated and you need to handle them correctly in your kitchen to make sure the food you’re serving your family or eating yourself is as safe as it can possibly be,” Quinlisk says. If there’s a recipe that demands raw eggs, she says go to the store and buy pasteurized eggs, which should be bacteria-free.
She offers a few more kitchen tips: “As you’re handling the raw eggs, the shell and everything, that can be contaminated,” Quinlisk says. “Just be sure and wash your hands after you handle them and if you had them touch a cutting board, wash that cutting board before you use it again.”
The eggs in the recall from Wright County Egg in Galt, Iowa, are packaged under several brand names, including: Lucerne, Albertson, Mountain Dairy, Ralph’s, Boomsma’s, Sunshine, Hillandale, Trafficanda, Farm Fresh, Shoreland, Lund, Dutch Farms and Kemps.
Learn more at: www.eggsafety.org.
