AAAGGGHHHHHH Pasturized Eggs!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[wischickenlover]

I am a cook in a nursing home facility. Our state (Wisconsin) has mandated that we have to use ONLY pasteurized eggs in all of our foods. Not only are they muh more expensive, they also arent very good quality. (Not sure what the pasteurizing process does to make the eggs so strange!) We have had the following issues with them: We have had several dozen in a case cracked open raw to reveal that the "whites" had actually turned a flourescent green color. (Reminiscent of the liquid in those glow sticks kids use at Halloween). Absolutely stomach-turning! If you scramble them, they are green. If they are hard-boiled, they turn out IMPOSSIBLE to peel as well as a strange color. We have had nothing but bad experiences with pasteurized eggs, but are forced to use them. Our state government in all its wisdom has mandated their use because of safety issues!

 

[scbatz33]

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sure sounds safe to me. are they still having you squat under a desk and cover your head in case of a nuclear attack too?

 

[Camelot Farms]

So yet again, the govt knows more than Mother Nature, God and all of the other powers that be.

The egg is one of natures most perfect foods and 'we' have to go and mess with it.

 

[wischickenlover]

Yes, very sad, isn't it? These elderly people were probably eating farm fresh eggs much of their lives. And they're still here!

 

[schellie69]

The Government is trying to kill any flavor or nutrient out of the food we eat it makes me sick to think about. and add a wax to cover the eggs to protect them from contaminate when they have the natural protection as long as you don't put them in water so they take off the natural protection that eggs have and replace with wax, makes no sense to me

 

[wischickenlover]

You should see the pages and pages of information we have been given about how to safely store, prepare, and serve the illness-inducing egg. They are so overboard with the idea that salmonella will run rampant if we deviate at all from these safe egg-handling guidelines. It's so over-the-top and ridiculous!

 

[scbatz33]

Quote:
Well then they will probably assembling a "task force" to invade my house since I don't even put them in the fridge. GASP!!!! The very idea!!!

 

[wischickenlover]

When the annual state inspections come around, we are expected to know all of these safety guidelines. For some reason, when using eggs in baking, we cannot even use the regular pasteurized eggs, they have to be the frozen, liquid variety. Doesnt make much sense to me. Keep in mind, this is in "America's Dairyland", Wisconsin!

 

[scbatz33]

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Yeah, where they take all the good stuff out of milka dn then charge you extra to "fortify" it with the vitamins they took out in the first place!

 

[Ferrret]

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

Taken from this Wiki article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasteurized_eggs

Also from the article is how to pasteurize in shell eggs:

Pasteurizing eggs in their shells is achieved through patented processes that involve a series of warm water baths. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, “Shell eggs can be pasteurized by a processor if FDA approves the process. The equipment to pasteurize shell eggs isn't available for home use, and it is not possible to pasteurize shell eggs at home without cooking the contents of the egg.”

After pasteurization, the eggs are coated with food-grade wax to maintain freshness and prevent environmental contamination and stamped with a red "P" in a circle to distinguish them from unpasteurized eggs.

I'm kind of baffled by the idea but whatever. If people want to spend a lot of money on food that is guaranteed safe by the same organization that recalls thousands of food products each year, then so be it.

And for a few giggles

The FDA 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.​