Salmonella Inside Eggs

Most people think of Salmonella as bacterial contamination coming from contact with fecal matter. This is how I thought that eggs could have salmonella. We know where eggs come from, then the chickens start sitting on the eggs as well, so for obvious reasons I'm sure egg shells do come in contact with fecal matter. Supposedly in the 1970s they began stringent inspection and cleaning processes for egg shells to prevent this contamination.

What I did not realize was that chickens could get salmonellosis, which is an infection caused by Salmonella bacteria. Salmonella can infect the ovaries of hens which contaminates the eggs inside the chicken prior to the shells being formed. To try to prevent this type of contamination, the egg industry should be regularly testing their hens for the ovarian bacteria.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) state that it seems only a small number of hens are infected with Salmonella at a given time. At the same time they state that an infected hen can lay many normal eggs while only occasionally laying an egg that's contaminated. My question is how do they know this? Do we keep selling the eggs because they 'might' be okay? Another concern of mine comes as a result of the current recall that is going on. The Food Safety News Reports, "This recall is of shell eggs only. Other egg products produced by Wright County Eggs are not affected." So, how does this work? If you have an infected chicken, you have an infected chicken right?

There is no way for consumers to tell if an egg is contaminated with Salmonella. It does not appear to matter how the chicken is raised either. Salmonella affects chickens of every quality. The eggs labeled 'free-range', 'organic', or 'natural' does not have more or less bacteria present.

The best safeguard when it comes to eggs is to be sure to eat well-cooked eggs because this can kill the Salmonella bacteria. Eggs should be heated to an internal temperature of at least 160 degrees Fahrenheit (71 degrees Celsius). So, you might need to lay off those over-easy eggs and eating those runny yolks.

The signs of Salmonella poisoning usually present about 12 to 72 hours after consuming contaminated food. Typical symptoms of Salmonella poisoning are fever, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea. The infected person could be sick from four to seven days.

I will just add this to my reasons to be thankful that I am Vegan!

Melina, Remy. "How Does Salmonella Get Inside Eggs?" http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20100818/sc_livescience/howdoessalmonellagetinsideeggs 19 August 2010.

"Egg Recall DETAILS: Salmonella Outbreak Affects 228 Million Eggs (UPDATED)". The Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/18/wright-county-egg-recall-2010-salmonella_n_684995.html 19 August 2010