//groan
Posted on 08/19/2010 6:22:46 AM PDT by sodpoodle
This is scary stuff!!!!
They've received millions of dollars in fines, been charged with abuse of employees including rape. Yet they continue to do business.
Last one to hear of this is a rotten egg.
The Salmonella is on the OUTSIDE of the shells.
GOOD food handling procedures and handwashing remove this threat.
Anatomically, chickens lay eggs and ‘poop’ out the same orifice — google cloaca.
Salmonella and other coliform bacteria are naturally in the gut of chickens. This is NOT a surprise to see eggs go to market with Salmonella.
Your Mayo is fine.
Are they blaming the chickens?
Roosters Gone Wild in henhouse heatwave.
Eggs Benedict Arnold.
Shell vows to crack this case.
Bush’s Fault ... of course!
//groan
The DeCosters now have a factory hog farm. If they could teach the hogs how to run the chickenhouse, I’m sure they would.
Thx.
The article describes problems related to raw or undercooked eggs. So, is it safe to assume that egg-washing practised in commercial food processing removes the risk - (which may be lax in restaurants and home preparation)?
Does cooking eggs in bakery products etc., kill the bacteria?
I didn't realize they had such a big role in egg production in Iowa.
Iowa is the largest egg producer in the nation due to all the corn raised here.
Am I the only one who is amzed that egg distirbution is so centralized?!
I woulda thunk it was iocal, like dairy.
Eggshells are porous. The salmonella can get through to the egg itself.
Eggzactly!
Affecting almost every State is an astonishing distribution from one producer.
Ike warned us about the *military/industrial* complex; today he might warn about the big agriculture/Dept.of AG complex.
Ms. Sherrod comes to mind.
Your best defense is to wash the eggs you plan to use under running water, and perhaps even first dip them in a mild UNSCENTED slightly soapy warm water solution, then rinse them and your hands under the running water. The purpose is is to clean the surface of the eggs (and your hands) of any waste that may contain live salmonella bacteria.
The eggs are contaminated naturally as they exit the alimentary canal of the chicken when the hen lays the egg. The egg processing plant simply failed to adequately decontaminate (i.e. wash) the eggs prior to packing them.
Bakery products DO run the risk of not killing all bacteria because they are high moisture in the center and the center of a cake is a long way from the heat of the oven. Anyways, don’t count on the process of baking a cake or custard (any high moisture bakery food with eggs as an ingredient) to kill bacteria.
Actually the MOST LIKELY way these folks got sick is that the bacteria entered the sick person’s mouth from their own hands after handling contaminated eggs. (ever lick your fingers when cooking for yourself and your family?)
The second most likely route of contamination is indeed from uncooked eggs in uncooked ingredients/ finished foods.
NET: (1) rinse the eggs, keep your hands out of your mouth when cooking with eggs yo cracked open, wash your hands when done. Basic stuff.
(2) This whole event has a duration equal to the shelf life of the eggs processed in this run.
(3) Don’t fear eggs.
Yes the egg shell is porous to gases — the growing chicken embryo has to exchange O2 and CO2 through the shell, but bacteria do not penetrate the shell nor the membrane just under the shell. The shell is a semipermeable membrane, which means that air and moisture can pass through its pores. The shell also has a thin outermost coating called the bloom or cuticle that helps keep out bacteria and particulates.
Gotta disagree with you, ‘cuz your science is bad.
Think about it - since EVERY chicken egg exits EVERY hen via what is essentially the chicken’s large intestine, (cloaca) then EVERY egg is surface contaminated with gut bacteria. *IF* the shell was porous to bacteria, then EVERY egg would ‘spoil’ prior to hatching. Nature (i.e., God) did not design-in an inherent weakness like that.
Just sayin’
If fecal matter is present on all eggs at the point of collection and subsequent bacteria contamination is due to poor food handling -why is it necessary to recall ALL 300 million eggs?
Because:
(1) Their lawyers tell them to do this as the best course
(2) They cannot identify WHICH egg cartons might have ‘dirty’ eggs
(3) 300 million eggs is a lot of eggs, but ... a quick google search reveals the US will consume nearly 100 BILLION eggs this year.
(4) The eggs don’t need to be recalled. People need to handle all food ingredients properly. NO fresh food is sanitary — ALL are septic.
(5) don’t FEAR bacterial contamination in fresh food. (handle them smartly). *DO* ‘fear’ contaminated canned food, ‘cuz the toxins from the bacteria build up.
Hope this helps.
BF
one more thing: salmonella poisoning is essentially Monteqzuma’s Revenge. The bacteria multiply in the intestinal lumen causing an intestinal inflammation with diarrhea (gas and pain also) that is often muco-purulent and bloody. It *IS* a bad deal, especially for immuno-suppressed and immuno-compromised individuals.
It’d be a good thing to keep Salmonella OUT of the food supply if you can. Don’t want to overlook that.
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