No time to let egg vigilance develop cracks

Why are eggs a food-safety concern?

Eggs, along with other high- protein foods, are considered "potentially hazardous" because bacteria that cause food-borne illness can rapidly grow in them. Eggs should be properly stored and cooked to prevent the growth of such potentially harmful bacteria as salmonella enteritidis.

Salmonella enteritidis has adapted to survive in hens' internal organs. It can be deposited by a hen into the contents of eggs. If raw eggs contain salmonella entertidis and are left at warm temperatures, the bacteria can multiply and infect people when the eggs are consumed raw or undercooked.

Although the likelihood of salmonella enteritidis being in an egg is very small, care must be taken with all eggs to prevent its growth. Proper refrigeration at 40 degrees or below limits the growth of the bacteria and proper cooking at 140 degrees or above destroys the organism.

The process of hard-cooking eggs destroys salmonella. However, it's important not to recontaminate eggs with other bacteria after they've been cooked, as the next situation illustrates.

Do you know of an instance where hard cooked eggs caused food borne illness?

In 1984, after an Easter egg hunt involving 850 children, 300 came down with food poisoning after eating hard-cooked eggs that had been contaminated with staphylococcal bacteria. The eggs had been prepared by an infected cook three to five days before the hunt and were left unrefrigerated.

The bacteria were absorbed through the porous egg shells when the eggs were in cool water. The source of the bacteria was the cook's hands. Without refrigeration, conditions were right for the bacteria to grow to numbers that caused illness. This was the first large outbreak of food poisoning from Easter eggs. This situation could have been prevented by proper hand washing before contact with the eggs and keeping the hard-cooked eggs refrigerated before the hunt.

What do I need to know to keep Easter eggs safe to eat?

First, wash hands thoroughly before handling eggs at every step, including cooking, cooling and dyeing, because the egg shell is very porous and bacteria can penetrate it easily.

Refrigerate eggs until it's time to cook them. After cooking, eggs should be cooled quickly under running cold water or in ice water and stored in the refrigerator. Refrigerate hard-cooked eggs in their cartons if you won't be coloring them right after cooking. Refrigerate them again right after dyeing them and after they have been displayed. Eggs will be safe to consume if they have not been out of refrigeration for more than two hours.

If you use hard-cooked eggs as a centerpiece, for decoration, or for hiding, and they are kept out of the refrigerator for more than two hours, discard the eggs that have been left out. Consider the discarded eggs a very inexpensive craft project. Cook extra eggs for eating.

If you are planning to use hard-cooked eggs in an Easter egg hunt, hide them just before the hunt and refrigerate after the hunt. A better idea is to use plastic eggs for your egg hunt.

Don't eat cracked eggs or eggs that have been unrefrigerated for more than two hours.

How do I hard-cook eggs at high altitude?

Fill a saucepan with cold water to cover eggs by an inch. Bring water to a furious boil. Cover. Reduce the heat to low. Cook for 20 minutes. Cool immediately in cold water.

What is the storage life of Easter eggs?

Hard-cooked eggs will keep refrigerated one week. Perhaps you have noticed the colored hard-cooked Easter eggs in the refrigerated case in the grocery store. These eggs have a longer than one-week shelf life because they have been given a protective coating that closes the pores of the shell and preserves freshness. Follow the use- by date on the package.

- For more information on this topic, contact the Colorado State University Cooperative Extension Office at 636-8920 and ask for USDA's fact sheet entitled "Handling Eggs Safely at Home".

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