Your Eggs Should Be Salmonella Free
4 
| Posted on August 24, 2010 ‹ newer older ›
In case you missed it, there has been a massive egg recall due to salmonella poisoning.
228 MILLION eggs are being recalled. Wow! And over 1,200 people have been sick from salmonella poisoning. How did that happen?
The quick answer is that the chickens that produced the eggs were infected with salmonella and passed it on to the egg.
Okay, well that isn't good and might be deadly to people with compromised immune systems if they eat such an egg.
How do we prevent it? Most people are pointing fingers at factory farms where chickens are kept in cages and can't spread their wings.
Last week, I posted this article on eggs - How To Get The Freshest Chicken Eggs and discussed backyard hens.
It seems that salmonella bacteria like wet environments shielded from sunlight. And salmonella is destroyed by the drying effects of wind, by the bactericidal effect of UV irradiation from the sun.
I think it is safe to assume that factory farms are high on wet environments, and low on sunshine and wind. If you know anything about bacteria, you know they love manure, wetness, and warmth.
I can't find a study on salmonella in eggs (factory farms versus backyard hens). It would seem to be a pretty easy study to do. But, I do think you could assume that your backyard hens would have a much less chance of salmonella poisoning than a factory farm eggs if you took good care of them.
Check out this article: Salmonella and what it means for the backyard chicken flock.
What do you think about the latest egg recall?
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4 Comments:
All the recalls on everything lately seem a little much. From food to baby products to cars... My sons crib was recalled because the matress supports "could" bend and if that happened he "could" be injured... I took back the crib, but the eggs, I have them just sitting in the fridge. I'm not dying to eat them... I'll probably just toss them. I was hoping to make eggs and chorizo someday soon, but it just doesn't sound too appetizing now...
stephv on August 24, 2010
In fact, factory hens are often raised in COMPLETE DARKNESS! It makes them more "docile."
That and salmonella are some of the reasons why I no longer eat eggs unless they came from a farm I or someone I know has visited where the chickens get free range outside unless they want to be inside (like in the winter, when it's frozen).
Anna on August 24, 2010
:-D I has mine own chickens!
Fresh(salmonilla free) eggs every morning!
Karen on August 25, 2010
If you want to see how chickens are raised in factory farms, check out the movie Food, Inc. It is an eye-opener!
Lindsay on August 27, 2010
