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Reduce Your Risk of Salmonella with Pastured Organic Eggs
Salmonella Safety Tips with Raw Organic Eggs: A recent egg recall from a Minnesota organic egg producer has sparked new concerns over salmonella contamination in eggs--and in particular, in organic eggs. The culprit? Larry Schultz farms--a producer of organic eggs for sale in local retail stores (including Byerly's and Lunds brand eggs) and restaurants in the Minneapolis metro area, as well.
For the most part--yes. The idea that organic eggs are less likely to contain salmonella is largely true--with a lower percentage of organic eggs testing positive for salmonella than eggs produced from non-organic farmers. Whether the eggs are organic or not may have less to do with the risk of salmonella contamination, and more to do with the methods used to produce the eggs in the first place. Let me explain.
I get my eggs from an organic farmer in my area who raises and collects eggs from chickens that are allowed to roam in large pens, placed on nutritionally dense, organic pasture land. I'd encourage you to also look for producers of these "pasture-raised" eggs. The chickens pick at bugs, worms, grasshoppers and other insects, and have a lot of space in which to move around each day. They are not crowded in their pens, and if you watch them, it looks like what you'd see if they were just walking around in the yard--about a dozen chickens per pen, clucking and walking around. At the end of each day, these chicken pens are dragged with a tractor to a fresh plot of land. Any chicken droppings containing salmonella (the most common method of contamination) are on the "old" grass from that day's feeding, and therefore, do not colonize and pose a health risk to the chickens or their eggs.
This practice of moving the chicken pens daily, has resulted in no salmonella measured from this farmer's eggs, as shown by frequent testing for salmonella in his soil underneath the chicken pens. As far as I know, this type of natural feeding practice with chickens makes salmonella a "non-issue" with truly pasture-raised chickens and eggs.
Industrial farming practices, or high-volume producers of eggs--whether organic or not--are prone to crowding their hens in confined areas. This crowding increases the chances of salmonella bacteria taking root among the chickens, since salmonella takes root in the bird's droppings. As these birds peck at the ground, they can then pick up salmonella from the soil that has been contaminated with their droppings, and they in turn spread the bacteria around. They also are walking through soil with a lot of chicken droppings, and this can easily spread salmonella from bird to bird in a confined space. Eggs, when laid, can get exposed to this bacteria, which will generally get spread
onto the shell of the egg--and sit there. When good eggs go bad Because the egg shell is porous, and because it may have small cracks in its surface, the salmonella bacteria can penetrate the egg's interior, where it can make a person sick if they handle it, or ingest it. Often, people get raw egg on their hands when preparing foods, and if that egg contains salmonella, they can then spread the salmonella bacteria to other foods they touch. Also, eating raw or under-cooked eggs, like very runny yolks, can also create potential salmonella exposure.
The best way I know of, to reduce your risk of salmonella in eggs is to find a local egg producer that uses the open-pasture and pen-moving techniques I described above. I also suggest organic eggs, although if a non-organic producer used this pen-moving method on non-organic pasture, I think you'd see salmonella risks approaching zero, too. If you are fortunate enough to know of an organic, local egg producer--go take a look at her hens and her pens. If you see crowded, sickly looking chickens in dirty conditions, you will quickly know that these birds are more at risk for salmonella than healthy, clean and uncrowded birds. Also, if you are buying farm-fresh, non-organic eggs, make sure the people from whom you buy the eggs are using non-GMO (Genetically Modified) feed for their chickens.
To reduce the risk of contamination when handling eggs, you should wash your hand with soap and water after handling the eggs, and then toss the eggs shells immediately after cracking the eggs. Another tip is to dip the eggs for about 5 seconds, into a pan of boiling water, before handling or using the eggs. The water has to cover the eggs completely, and it works well to dip the eggs into boiling water with a slotted spoon, holding them there for a few seconds, then removing. Do this right before cooking with eggs, and do not put them back into the same egg carton, if you want to keep the risk of contamination down.
You might fall out of your chair when you read this, but I actually eat raw eggs as part of my protein-rich smoothie recipe. I know, it's not for everyone, but raw eggs have their place in the culinary arts. I don't use raw eggs every day, but I do like them because they are a perfectly balanced protein, and contain powerful nutrients and health promoting enzymes. I will not use commercially produced eggs if I use raw eggs however. No, no, no. I only use the pasture-raised, organic, eggs I mentioned above--and I wash their shells using soap and water, before cracking them. I have used organic eggs from the store, for a raw egg supplement, on
occasion--dipping the eggs in boiling water when I am going to Your best bet To be very safe, thoroughly cook any egg you prepare, especially when serving them to kids or the elderly. This is the best practice to cut down your risk of salmonella contamination
from eggs--whether organic or not. P.S. Did you know chickens raised following the organic, open-air system I mentioned are high in omega-3 and vitamin D3? This is another way to increase these critical nutrients in your diet--in addition to supplementing with a good quality vitamin D3 and Omega 3 rich fish oil.
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