University of Illinois food science professor Bruce Chassy told the AP that eggs laid by a hen infected with salmonella can be safely sold if they are pasteurized or cooked. Both processes raise the temperature of the eggs enough to kill most, if not all, salmonella. The bacteria "are all going to be dead, and if they're dead, they're not going to hurt anybody," he said.
Pasteurized liquid eggs can be used to prepare foods, such Caesar salad dressing, that call for raw eggs.
But what about any eggs still languishing in your fridge? Are they safe to eat?
To find out, check the carton for the "Sell By" date and the two numbers below it, federal health officials say, to see if your eggs are involved in the recall. One number is the plant number, and the other is the packaged date, or Julian date, showing what day of the year the eggs were packaged. For example, Jan. 1 is 001 and Dec. 31 is 365. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has a list of what numbered designations are included in the recall.
Earlier this week, the head of the FDA said there may be more recalls of eggs potentially tainted by salmonella.
"We may see some additional sort of sub-recalls over the next couple of days, maybe even weeks, as we better understand the network of distribution of these eggs that are contaminated," Dr. Margaret Hamburg told NBC's Today show.
At least 550 million eggs have been recalled so far, according to federal officials.
Hamburg said new laws are needed to expand the FDA's enforcement from a mostly reactive stance on food safety to a more "preventive approach." Congress should pass pending legislation that would give her agency greater enforcement power, including new authority over imported food, she said.
During a press conference Monday afternoon, federal offi
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