The embattled egg
It’s been a hard summer for the Incredible Edible Egg. As many of you know, a huge voluntary recall of shell eggs occurred in August after the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control traced a salmonella outbreak to two different farms in Iowa. To date, this recall has affected more than 500 million eggs. It appears the ongoing investigation is now focusing on a feed mill located near both farms. You can find a ton of up-to-date information about this investigation, including a list of frequently asked questions and a list of recalled brands, on the FDA website here.
It is a shame that this has caused many Americans to shy away from eating eggs, because they are such a delicious source of protein and vitamins. The Virginia Egg Council has sent a release with a list of questions and answers, including the question “Is it safe to buy eggs?” Answer: “Yes. However, as a general food safety rule, it is recommended that eggs be cooked until the white and yolks are firm or, for dishes containing eggs, until an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit is reached.”
Well, that’s great for folks like me who prefer their eggs scrambled or hard boiled. But I’m probably in the minority. I know plenty of people, including my husband, who love to dip their toast into a runny yolk. So while I understand that recommendation, I find it very unrealistic. The egg council offered a few other safety tips, which can easily be remembered as Clean, Separate, Cook, Chill. This basically means that we should treat eggs as we treat raw chicken: wash our hands and everything that comes into contact with raw eggs, keep them separate from ready-to-eat items in the grocery cart and bags, cook thoroughly and keep chilled at 33 to 40 degrees.
That’s interesting, because I know egg farmers who don’t even refrigerate their farm fresh eggs. And wasn’t it just a couple of decades ago when Mom would let us lick the cake batter from the mixer beater? Did anyone ever get sick from that?
If you want to stay on the safe side with fully cooked eggs and are looking for some new recipes, egg council spokeswoman Mary Rapoport sent along a week’s worth of ideas, including Muffin Frittatas, Pizza-Topped Scrambled Eggs, and a Bacon and Egg Grilled Cheese. Look for links to those recipes below.
Has this recall caused any of you to change the way you purchase or prepare eggs?
Easy Egg Breakfast Quesadillas
Coffee Cup Scramble (easy for kids to make themselves!)
September 22, 2010 - 10:22 AM
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About two years ago, I made this one simple change – I stopped buying commercially grown eggs from the grocery store. I only buy farm fresh eggs from local suppliers. They don’t have to be handled as if they’re radioactive, and they are more healthy than the grocery store eggs. It’s all part of my shift to becoming as much of a ‘locavore’ as is practical. I’ll never get all the way there, but the closer the better…
Nope. I eat a lot of eggs. I’m a pseudo vegetarian so eating eggs is about the only way I get a good amount of protein.
I eat them scrambled, in an omelet, benedict… Basically I’m the Bubba of eggs. You give em to me… I’ll figure out a way to eat em.
A couple decades ago for licking the batter off the beaters? Try last week! lol Scraping them with a silicone spatula is too tedious, and I don’t want it to go to waste…never had a problem with it, though I do recognize it’s probably not the best thing to do. But otherwise I handle the eggs as called for in food safety terms, buy the freshest I can find, keep them well-chilled, and toss them as soon as they hit their date.
And I honestly didn’t even know about the recall…maybe not watching the news has its downside. But it won’t change how I do things. If I eat eggs not mixed into a batter or some other form, I always cook them well past 160. I would probably make a classically-trained chef cringe at my scrambled eggs, eggs in the basket, and omlets because of how past the traditional ‘done’ point I take them, but I absolutely hate runny eggs with a passion.
After I watched Food Inc. I stopped buying a number of things commercial eggs being one of them. I now barter breads I bake for local eggs. The diffrence is amazing!
Lindsey, I also find the “chill” recommendation puzzling.
ABDNVA, we’ve been trying to do the same. I find the taste to be much better. We’ve been getting our eggs either from the Roanoke Co-op (though on my past couple of visits they did not have any local eggs) and the Roanoke Farmer’s Market.
We have changed everything about how we purchase and handle any food. Like abdnva, we pursue locally grown foods, but this isnt’ always possible.
We research foods, who makes certain brands – can you say GMO products anyone? Most of our grocery shelves are loaded with the “BIG 3″ food producers labels – who all participate in the GMO deal big time. Just because the FDA says something is safe doesn’t mean it is – there are allot of documentaries out there about Monsanto/FDA links and it goes deeper…
Buying groceries is a big event with us, as he reads every label and we find very few products are healthy and have ingredients that aren’t chemically enhanced.
Food handling is a big thing with me, it’s amazing how many people will grow something all summer and then can it, cutting corners – YIKES! Just because grandma didn’t do a water bath on those fruits and relishes doesn’t mean it’s a good thing.
I buy organic eggs from a local farm in Floyd Co. Or, I get them from my sister when I can. Nothing beats (pardon the pun) the taste of fresh eggs. They really are better for you (check out http://www.livestrong.com/article/67236-benefits-organic-eggs), and they last longer in the fridge. I seldom bought from the grocery store before the salmonella thing, and I will not buy from the grocery store now.
IM like the others, either I get my eggs direct from a local farm or I get them from the co-op. If I get them locally and they are pastured, I can eat them all day with runny yolks or raw in a shake. Commercial eggs give me stomach pains by 9:30am
I raise my own chickens, so have fresh eggs. Nothing like needing an egg and going out to the barn and picking one fresh. Have a duck setting now, and was wondering whether duck eggs are really as “strong” as people say, but I’m too chicken (pardon the pun) to try it.
There are several vendors of local eggs at the Grandin farmers market on Sat. ams.
I like my eggs poached and pretty wet, so I try to always have local eggs on hand. I’ve never had a problem with them, and the yokes are much darker colored and yummier.
Susan, I used to have hens, too – I miss them. And yes, duck eggs are much stronger than chicken eggs, and the yolks are neon orangey-yellow. I don’t care for them by themselves, but if you use them in baked goods, you won’t know the difference.
I buy my eggs from a woman at the Roanoke Farmer’s Market. I’ve been buying from her for a couple of years now. The recall made me very glad that I do. If I eat a fried egg, I like the yolk runny so I can dip my toast in it. I’ve never had a problem with it.
Is the Grandin farmers market still open? Don’t they close at a certain point in the fall?
You know, it’s just amazing to me that all of these so called ‘improved’ foods – eggs, beef, ‘farm raised’ fish, tomatoes & other vegetables that we have need so many extra precautions to make sure they don’t poison us. Somehow, some way, our parents & grandparents were able to consume the non ‘enhanced’ food without fear of illness. And yet, we’re supposed to trust the FDA when they tell us this stuff is better? Hello? Genetically morphed salmon, anyone? Not really sorry for the rant, it needs to be said as often as possible…
It’s so gratifying to see so many people buying their eggs from local sources! We’re adding chickens to our garden next spring, both layers and broilers, and I can’t wait to have our own eggs and meat. Until then we’re buying/bartering with our neighbors.
Susan, don’t be “chicken” with your duck eggs! I wouldn’t say they have a stronger taste, I think they have a richer taste, more assertively eggy. And they are awesome to bake with. I’d take them off your hands in a minute!
There’s just something comforting about having a couple of perfectly cooked – medium well – fried eggs. Just hard enough for all the white to be solid and the yolk to be on the verge. A little solid, mostly runny. And, yes, dipping your toast into the yolk adds something to that raspberry jelly you’ve already spread on the toast…
Sheila’s Cafe does their medium fried eggs perfectly.
I’ll have to try them out for breakfast. Not this weekend, but soon.