Did you know that a contaminated egg can infect you with salmonella? Well yes – just like ground meat or chicken – eggs, if not handled with the necessary care, can seriously harm your health. But before you eliminate them from your diet, here we tell you what care you should take to avoid getting sick.
Hard-boiled, fried, poached or raw, in the form of omelettes or tortillas, or as part of countless recipes — from fried foods to panetelas — eggs are part of a varied and balanced diet. In addition to being delicious, eggs are very nutritious and easy to digest, they contain protein, are rich in vitamins and minerals and although they have been accused of increasing cholesterol levels, this idea has been questioned and the debate still continues. regard.
However, although they are a source of important nutrients for the body, they can also transmit diseases and infections such as salmonella, which is one of the main causes of foodborne illnesses.
You have to be careful, because although the egg may look perfectly normal both in the shell and on the inside, it may have salmonella, a group of bacteria that is also found in raw meat or poultry, as well as in unwashed fruits and vegetables.
If a person contracts these bacteria, they may experience nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and fever. If the person is in good health, these symptoms last a few days (usually after a week they should have disappeared). On the other hand, pregnant women, young children, the elderly, and those with chronic illnesses or weakened immune systems are at greater risk.
Although many people can recover from the infection without receiving any treatment, in certain more severe cases it is necessary to combat it with antibiotics, since if the infection caused by salmonella passes from the intestines to the bloodstream and from there to other parts of the body, it can be very dangerous and even cause death.
The good thing is that all of this can be avoided. How? Learning to handle eggs correctly from the moment you buy them until they end up on the plate. Below we give you some recommendations so that eggs are a safe food:
- Buy eggs where they are refrigerated and open the carton to make sure they are clean and unbroken.
- Once at home, refrigerate them quickly and properly (at a temperature of 40º F or 4º C) until you are ready to consume them, within the first three weeks after purchasing them.
- Store eggs in their original carton, keep them clean, and discard any that are cracked or dirty.
- When handling eggs, wash your hands and all surfaces that have come into contact with raw eggs, such as utensils, plates, and cutting boards. Then, quickly store unused eggs or leftover eggs that contain eggs in the refrigerator.
- Cook the eggs well until the white and yolk are firm. Scrambled eggs should not be watery, and recipes that contain eggs mixed with other foods should be cooked to an internal temperature of 160º F or 71º C.
- When preparation includes raw or half-cooked eggs when serving (like Caesar salad dressing, for example), use shell eggs or pasteurized egg products.
- Eat eggs immediately after cooking and do not leave them warm or at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
- Eggs and egg-containing dishes, such as quiches and soufflés, can be refrigerated for later serving (within 3 to 4 days), but should be thoroughly reheated before serving, to 165º F or 74º C. In the case of Hard-boiled eggs (with or without shell), do not consume them after 1 week of cooking them.
- In restaurants, avoid foods made with raw or lightly cooked, unpasteurized eggs.
- When you are traveling or outdoors, keep boiled eggs in a thermally insulated refrigerator with enough ice or cooling gel packs to keep them cold, and do not place the refrigerator in the trunk of the car, but inside the passenger compartment, with air conditioning.
- If you want to take boiled eggs to work or school, store them with a small cooling gel bag or a frozen juice box.
With these simple precautions you are ready to eat your favorite recipe with eggs in peace, without them harming your health.
