How can eggs not be filthy?

[Dinosuarus]

I was going to delete this question, but sunflour gave a very comprehensive answer so I'm leaving it.

I've been researching. There is a ton of contradictory information about washing or not washing eggs. Then there's the debate on warm water or hot water. Soap or no soap. I understand the "bloom." But, I also understand that salmonella can be on the feathers, beak, and feet of an infected bird. (Basically all over the darn thing.) How can the salmonella not get on the outside of the egg when it is setting on the same surfaces that the chicken sits and walks all over. Plus the chicken, with all her feathers and feet are sitting directly on the egg. If the chicken is infected with salmonella, how can the egg not get salmonella on the outside of the" bloom?" Store bought eggs are scrubbed. Wouldn't that make them unsafe to eat prepared sunny-side up or over easy. How can restaurants serve eggs these ways then? Why isn't there a warning on the egg carton stating "Only eat fully cooked eggs"?

Then I read somewhere that unpasteurized U.S. store bought eggs are safe to consume raw. How is that possible?

Furthermore, what's the best way to store eggs in the refrigerator when you don't have a carton - air tight container or open?

 

[sunflour]

The worry about commercial eggs and poultry meat salmonella issues is due to antibiotics given to the commercial poultry has resulted in overgrowth of the bacteria. We used to be able to eat raw eggs, even commercial ones. Or leave a cooked chicken/turkey at room temp at lunch and safely eat at supper.

If you are that concerned, you can have your chickens tested for salmonella. But even if negative, I would not recommend eating raw eggs.

Cooking eggs will kill salmonella. Even poached.

The bloom protects eggs from bacteria, washing it off offers entry sites for contamination. I would not wash your eggs unless they are soiled. And if so, wash, crack and cook or discard if greatly soiled.

Chicken eggs should not be very soiled unless the area in front of nests are dirty. They cannot poop and lay at the same time.

All commercial eggs have warnings of salmonella issues, even if not labeled on the cartons, check out USDA food safety sites.
Commercial eggs are washed not to make them safe, but prettier for consumers.

It's best to store eggs in refrigerator covered. Covered makes them stay fresh longer.

 

[aart]

I would delete this but I don't know how.

Click the red flag on the post and ask the moderator to delete it.

 

[Dinosuarus]

Thanks, aart. I was going to delete the OP, but sunflour helped me understand a bit better and I'm still curious and confused.

Chicken eggs should not be very soiled unless the area in front of nests are dirty. They cannot poop and lay at the same time.

That I understand, but the entire chicken is ... how can I say this? --- A Chicken. It digs, scratches and even dust bathes in its own feces and excrement. It is filthy. Its feet are filthy. Its feathers are filthy. It's an animal. A dirty bird. Foul. ( Can you tell I don't think of them as pets?

) The egg is laid on a filthy surface in dirty surroundings. Not because you (the chicken keeper) don't keep it clean enough, but because the chicken is filthy. How can every inch of the chicken not be covered in feces, dust, lice, mites, and who knows what else? How can the outside of the egg not be filthy too? It was born in foulness. I'm not being argumentative. I don't get how the outside of an unwashed egg could possibly be clean.

My thought is that commercial egg producers in most first world countries scrub and bleach eggs not only because it makes them more appealing, but because eggs are produced in an environment of chickens covered in germs and bacteria. The U.S. food safety standards are higher than second and third world countries. Again, I'm not making an argument for washing eggs. I just don't get how they are not inherently dirty.

If you are that concerned, you can have your chickens tested for salmonella. But even if negative, I would not recommend eating raw eggs.

I heard that! ^

I still don't understand how restaurants can serve sunny side up/over easy eggs 24/7 seemingly without a care.

 

[aart]

There is usually a disclaimer on menus in most restaurants about 'under cooked' eggs and meat.

'Clean' can be a relative term depending on the situation and the perspective of the person using the word. I worked in biological 'clean' rooms for 18 years, had a lot of training regarding biochemistry, gowning, contamination and cross contamination, etc.
They did culture testing on our garments frequently, where a sample is taken off the gowns/gloves unto a growing medium and incubated/examined for growth of organism.

I am very aware of bringing that chicken 'filth' into the house/kitchen, but am also not much of a germaphobe.
We are exposed to organisms everyday/everywhere, some of them are detrimental, some of them are beneficial.
I choose to be aware, mindful and careful but not try to kill every organism that might be on/in me...there's alot to be said about immunities.

But, Yes, chicken eggs out of the backyard are 'filthy' in some respects, some are filthier than others.
Personal choice how you deal with it.
JMHO

 

[Tamara119]

How can the outside of the egg not be filthy too? It was born in foulness. I'm not being argumentative. I don't get how the outside of an unwashed egg could possibly be clean.

The outside of the egg often isn't clean, that's my point. But what's important is the inside. The inside is just fine, it has to be, since that's a potential embryo if it's incubated.

 

[Dinosuarus]

I think you are making the issue a little overblown. Yes, chickens can be dirty. ... In fact, nature is dirty ... I never wash my eggs, and neither do my customers. I have at least 2 customers who love my eggs because they eat them raw and they taste the best. Myself, I don't like raw eggs, but neither of them have become sick and they swear by my eggs.

Lol. I like when people tell it like it is. Although I would never eat raw eggs, your reply makes a lot of sense. I am somewhat of a germaphobe. Some would ask, "Why do you even keep chickens then?" To that I would answer; They are fascinating.

 

[tcstoehr]

Quote:
"Filthy" is a relative term. It's actually a natural state of affairs for most creatures. Until recently in human history virtually every bite of food we ate had soil and tons of bacteria on it. Most bacteria are harmless or even beneficial. Those that are harmful are kept in check by competition with the others. Cleaning up the situation with constant sanitizing and antibiotics throws the whole thing out of whack.
I constantly have my hands in the soil, handle chicken poop, eat unwashed carrots and other veggies right from the garden, only occasionally wash my hands, and never get a flu shot. I never get sick. I figure it's the same for my chickens.
Also, as I understand it, eggs do not share any of the same pathway as feces. It's like an interior duct pushes outward and deposits the egg. At least that's what Harvey Ussery tells me in one of his books. I'm not 100% clear on it.

 

[CrazyTalk]

. To me, the issue is that our culture thinks everything needs to be sterilized, sanitized and purified. In fact, nature is dirty, but that doesn't make it dangerous. Most of the cells in the human body are bacterial cells, not human cells. Trying to get rid of bacteria is ill-fated and ill-conceived.

Exactly.

It's creeping into everything, and if these people get their way, they're going to basically destroy agriculture in this country. I love me some farming, but not everyone should need to be a farmer.

 

[sunflour]

I still am going to make an argument that our FDA has allowed commercial egg, meat and produce industries to manipulate our food sources in ways that have dramatically changed all our food safety. It is not that long ago, that raw eggs from industry were safe enough to eat raw. Many products were made with uncooked eggs - mayonnaise, hollandaise sauce, and many desserts. You didn't have salmonella in poultry, could cook that chicken or turkey at lunch, leave it at room temp and was still safe at the evening meal. Oh my, we could actually eat cookie dough or lick the cake mixing bowls with raw eggs in them and not get sick. I never wanted raw eggs and don't eat the shells, but am not afraid of any that are cooked.

Anyone who has great fear of "dirty food" needs never to eat anywhere but at home, grow your own vegetables, raise and slaughter your own meats. There really is no way to know where the next recall problems will be. Who would imagine tainted lettuce, spinach, melons? There are also warnings now not to rinse any meat before cooking, because the bacterial count on kitchen surfaces increases.

Also, avoid antibacterial soaps…a friend's son did a high school project of bacterial cultures comparison of before and after antibacterial liquid soap washing. What a surprise, the plates post washing with it all had higher bacterial counts than the "dirty" hands or just washing in plain water.

But overwhelmingly, the largest risk to all of us is hand shaking. You really don't know where those hands have been. I'll bet many are as nasty as chicken feet. But if you like hot dogs, and I do, bet we eat those too?