Pasteurized eggs

Pasteurized eggs are eggs that have been pasteurized in order to reduce the risk of foodborne illness in dishes that are not cooked or are only lightly cooked. They may be sold as liquid egg products or pasteurized in the shell.

Pasteurized eggs are eggs that have been pasteurized in order to reduce the risk of foodborne illness in dishes that are not cooked or are only lightly cooked. They may be sold as liquid egg products or pasteurized in the shell.

Rationale

The 2013 United States Food and Drug Administration Food Code defines regular shell eggs as a potentially hazardous food, i.e., "a food that requires time/temperature control for safety (TCS) to limit pathogenic microorganism growth or toxin formation." All egg products sold in the U.S that are pasteurized due to the risk of foodborne illnesses are done per U.S. Department of Agriculture rules. They also do not allow any egg products to be sold without going through the process of pasteurization. They also do not recommend eating shell eggs that are raw or undercooked due to the possibility that Salmonella bacteria may be present. Because of the risk of foodborne illness caused by Salmonella bacteria that may be present in raw eggs, the U.S. Department of Agriculture requires a safe-handling advisory statement on all packages of raw shell eggs that are not treated to destroy Salmonella as follows: "Safe Handling Instructions: To prevent illness from bacteria: Keep eggs refrigerated, cook eggs until yolks are firm, and cook foods containing eggs thoroughly."

History

By traditional pasteurization methods, heating a raw shell egg to a high enough temperature to achieve pasteurization would also cook the egg. However, beginning in the early 1980s, Dr. James P. Cox and R.W. Duffy Cox of Lynden, Washington, began developing methods to pasteurize shell eggs. In the early 1990s, the Coxes were introduced to L. John Davidson. Davidson recognized the market need and opportunity for a safer egg option for consumers and food operations around the country. Davidson acquired a license agreement on the technology from the Cox Family and formed Pasteurized Egg Corporation to introduce safe egg technology to the consumer marketplace. The process for pasteurizing shell eggs has been patented. Currently, National Pasteurized Eggs Inc. of Lansing, Illinois, owns Dr. Cox's patent to the pasteurization process. Only National Pasteurized Eggs Inc. can provide pasteurized shell eggs produced through these patented processes. The eggs can be found in all U.S. states under the brand Davidson's Safest Choice, introduced in 2003.

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1370990090 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.