Raw Eggs To Boost Protein?
March 4, 2008
I was asked this yesterday as I was doing a training session and realised I did not know what the latest take on Salmonella and raw eggs was. I had been trying to get a clients protein intake up in the morning and he had told me he was having a few egg whites to do this. I used to do the same a number of years ago in the good old days but now things have changed. I knew this was still not a great idea but wanted to check out the Food Standard Agency for latest information.
I found this article and it is not good news.
Between November 2005 and January 2007, eggs purchased from 1,567 catering premises in the UK were tested for salmonella contamination. Eggs from eight different countries were tested. Most of the eggs originated from the UK (89.0%).
Salmonella was found on the shells of six samples, of which one was also contents positive, giving a prevalence of 0.38%. Five of the positive samples were from the UK and one was produced in Germany. Salmonella Enteritidis was the most common serotype (0.31%) with phage type (PT) 4 being the most common phage type (0.19%).
The survey showed evidence of poor egg storage and handling practices in catering premises. Half (55%) did not store their eggs under refrigerated conditions, a fifth (20.7%) of egg samples had expired best before dates or were in use after three weeks of lay indicating poor stock rotation, and 37.1% mixed and pooled eggs for use during the day.
