Fact or Myth:Eating Raw Eggs Carries a High Risk of Salmonella

FACT OR MYTH:

EATING RAW EGGS CARRIES A HIGH RISK OF SALMONELLA

The fact that I got so many questions on this subject surprised me. I would not have guessed this subject would have been high on anyone’s list. I’m not sure where this question came from. Maybe because there is a new “Rocky " movie being released. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone eat raw eggs since Rocky I.

However, there is a long list of warnings put forth by mothers and others about the risk of eating certain common foods like “You’ll get salmonella from the raw eggs in that raw cookie dough.”

Here are the facts:

USDA, 2002(Risk Analysis April 2002 22(2):203-18)

Only 2.3 million out of 69 Billion eggs produced annually are contaminated with salmonella. That’s 0.003%. Looked at another way, the average person would come across a contaminated egg once every 42 years.

Abstract Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12022671?dopt=Abstract

On a separate but related note, lest everyone run out and start gulping raw eggs like Rocky Balboa. Tests results indicate that the digestibility of   protein in uncooked eggs is approximately 51% while the digestibility of protein from cooked eggs is closer to 91%.

Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9772141

Verdict: MYTH

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