I have a question additional to this question How does salmonella get into eggs. This tells me that salmonella is mostly found on the shell of an egg. However, eggs are treated (typically washed) such that most egg shells do not contain any salmonella anymore.
I eat eggs which I get from my mother-in-law who has her own chickens, so these eggs are not 'treated'. I was wondering a few things:
-
What is the risk that these eggs contain salmonella? Is this risk negligible?
-
Should I use supermarket eggs to make food with raw eggs in it, for example chocolate mouse, and only use these eggs for food which is heated?
-
If there is a risk, how should I clean the shells? (using hot water is not an option for eggs, of course).
A related question might be Is it safe to eat raw eggs?. The answer seem to be yes, but here it also seems that it is about 'supermarket eggs'.
Best Answer
If you need the eggs raw, you could submerge them in boiling water for 5 sec. That would kill any bacteria on the shell and the egg would still be raw inside. Put the eggs in cold water right away to prevent the egg from heating up by the residual heat in the shell. I have tried this many times and the eggs do not cook. If you are serving the eggs to very young children, pregnant women or someone who are sick, you should buy pasteurized eggs instead. But normally it's safer to eat eggs from chickens you raise, than the ones from a factory, because they are more healthy and their immune system is well developed enough to kill the salmonella itself.