Egg Dishes & Sauces to be Wary of

At a Restaurant

I would bet that many people would be surprised to learn how many different types of egg based dishes and sauces are served with either raw eggs, or only minimally cooked eggs.  Here is a good sample of the most common of these egg based foods:

• Raw batter, filling, or cookie dough made with raw eggs
• Egg-fortified beverages that are not thoroughly cooked (e.g. homemade eggnog)

• Mousse
• Meringue
• Tiramisu

California recently changed its state law banning restaurants from using raw unpasteurized eggs.  Many states will follow this requirement if they haven’t already.  Check with you local Environmental Health Food Inspection Program to learn more.

What's the danger, you may be asking?

Here is just one example of what probably occurs often in the U.S. alone regarding food poisoning resulting from the consumption of raw eggs.  (Remember also that the vast majority of food poisoning cases go unreported mainly because most people recover on their own.  So just because a restaurateur makes a claim that they have been serving this raw egg sauce or dish for x number of years without receiving any complaints of illness, just means that no one reported it or recognized it as a food borne illness and linked it to the raw eggs.)

There was an outbreak (August 2007) at a popular restaurant in Los Angeles where at least 40 people were confirmed to have contracted Salmonella which was linked to Hollandaise sauce made with undercooked, unpasteurized eggs, even though the law had already taken effect.  A reporter for the Los Angeles Times reported his painful experience with this illness in the paper.

Although the estimated percentage of eggs that are contaminated with Salmonella is small (1 of every 20,000 eggs), this is not completely accurate as far as your chances of contracting this bug.  The chances are increased because most of these raw egg based dishes are made with pooled eggs (i.e. many raw eggs mixed together in one bowl or mixer) thereby allowing one contaminated egg to infect many and therefore an entire dish or sauce that may likely be served to many people.

I also would argue just based on the benefits versus the dangers.  Besides the fact that technology has improved such that pasteurized eggs are now widely available in all the ways needed to produce these sauces and dishes safely, with no discernible difference from using raw eggs; the dangers, including severe complications and death for high risk individuals, are too high and too painful to put yourself at risk.

The lesson to take away is not to trust that the restaurant is complying with the law but to ask questions, observe and do your own investigating if need be to assure you and your family are protected, especially if you find it difficult to avoid these higher risk foods.