With the current outbreak of avian flu, you may be wondering if your eggs are safe to eat. Luckily, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) says that the chances of contracting avian flu from eating eggs are very low. But raw eggs can still pose a health risk. “According to a 2013 report by the USDA, over 30 percent of raw shell eggs are contaminated with salmonella,” says Emily Hovis, an assistant teaching professor at the University of Washington’s Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences and a former retail food safety specialist. “While that number is concerning, salmonella (and other pathogens, including bird flu) can be killed with proper cooking to 165°F.” (For reference, a cooked sunny side-up egg will reach 165°F.)
But what about recipes that call for raw or undercooked eggs—like carbonara or tiramisu? For certain dishes, there’s no appropriate substitute for the emulsifying or volumizing properties that raw eggs deliver. In these cases, the best solution is to use pasteurized eggs.
Are all eggs pasteurized?
Only a small minority of shell eggs produced in the U.S. are pasteurized—and the ones that are available are notably more expensive due to the added time and processing involved in pasteurization. There are two types of pasteurized eggs available to consumers: Pasteurized shell eggs and pasteurized egg products.
How do you pasteurize eggs?
Pasteurization involves heating a product, like eggs or dairy, to a specific temperature for a specific amount of time in order to destroy harmful pathogens.
Pasteurized shell eggs (or simply eggs in their shell) are sold intact and undergo a special water bath that heats them to the correct temperature, but without actually cooking them. “Kind of like the process of making a hard-boiled egg,” says Hovis, “but at a much lower temperature (130°F to 140°F) and for a much longer period of time (60 minutes) to make sure the eggs are still runny and not at all cooked (in the traditional sense).” Hovis also notes that after cooling, the eggs are coated in a protective wax to prevent recontamination then stamped with a “P” to indicate their pasteurized status.
Pasteurized egg products are eggs that have been removed from their shells and are typically sold in cardboard cartons. These products include whole eggs, egg whites, and egg yolks. Hovis explains that the USDA requires by law all egg products (referring to eggs out of their shells) to be pasteurized. However, the pasteurization process for these products is much faster, meaning that egg products are cheaper and more widely available than pasteurized shell eggs.
Hovis says that pasteurized eggs are safe to eat without cooking, since they’ve been heat-treated to kill off dangerous pathogens. “That said,” she explains, “they need to be handled safely to prevent re-contamination and stored at proper temperatures (41°F or below) before use.”
How to use pasteurized eggs
Pasteurized eggs won’t perform exactly like their raw counterparts—they have a thinner and runnier consistency and won’t cook up as firmly—but they come pretty close. Pasteurized shell eggs are preferred for preparations that require an intact egg or egg yolk; for example, a sunny-side-up egg or a cured egg yolk. Liquid egg products can be used in a multitude of ways—whole egg products are for baking, omelets, and scrambles, while liquid whites work well for meringue-based desserts (though they won’t whip up quite as nicely as raw egg whites).
Liquid egg yolks are less common than liquid egg whites but can usually be found at restaurant supply stores and make a great swap for mayonnaise or even carbonara. While they may not be a perfect substitute in every recipe, pasteurized eggs are a great option for those who want to avoid the risks associated with raw eggs but still want to enjoy some of the many dishes that use them.
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