21
2010
Backyard Chicken Eggs and Salmonella
An article by 
I was ready to write a quick post about how you shouldn’t necessarily be motivated by fear a Salmonella bacteria outbreak to switch over from eating factory to free ranged eggs. I was going to describe all the great benefits including the lower cholesterol, higher omega 3 fatty acids, and lower saturated fats you can enjoy in truly free range eggs.
Being a studious blogger, I decided to confirm what I was already sure I knew: my backyard eggs could never carry salmonella. I was surprised to learn that I was totally wrong.
The US Centers for Disease Control assert that salmonella is transmitted from the hen to the egg during egg production inside the body. It then lays dormant in the egg until the egg is cracked and used for cooking. A salmonella infected egg may not look any different than any other egg.
Salmonella occurs more commonly in factory farmed eggs because of several factors. First, the hens are usually less healthy and spread disease among themselves, causing a higher percentage of hens laying salmonella infected eggs.
Factory farmed eggs are washed immediately, which removes the protective bloom that is naturally found on freshly laid eggs. According to the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardener’s Association, the bloom not only serves as a barrier to bacteria, but makes the eggs stay fresh at room temperature. Washed eggs have more porous shells, making them more susceptible to soaking up some salmonella bacteria during processing.
Oh, the processing. Factory farm eggs are then sorted by size, packaged into containers, trucked all over the country, and distributed to grocery stores. At all points in processing the multitude of eggs, slight mistakes in handling including keeping eggs above refrigerated temperature, can spread salmonella bacteria.
Some advocate for pasteurization, others spread the myth that backyard eggs are best. In an NPR report, the director of Denmark’s National Food Institute asserts that “Shell eggs, we can say with rather great certainty, are essentially free from Salmonella enteriditis.” The way Danes achieve this certainty is by frequent testing and culling (that is slaughtering) of any flock found to test positive for salmonella in the laying hens.
Thorough cooking kills salmonella, or so I thought. It turns out that according to Humphrey et al (1989), some home cooking methods kill salmonella in some concentrations. In some infected eggs, no amount of cooking can eliminate all traces of salmonella bacteria.
So, what’s a conscious consumer to do? Here’s my take:
1) Acquire pastured fresh eggs from someone you know, either a backyard chicken raiser or a farmer at the farmer’s market. At the very least you will reap the nutritional benefits of free ranged eggs.
2) Consider buying with the bloom on. Many farmers will gladly skip the washing step.
3) Avoid raw eggs (including runny yolks) if you are young, old, immune suppressed or pregnant, or serving those risk groups.
4) If you are not in these groups, don’t panic. Enjoy an over easy egg once in awhile. Contracting salmonella probably won’t kill you.
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About the Author: Rachel Tayse
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Hi! I am Rachel Tayse Baillieul, a home-cooking, backyard-gardening, unschooling, earthy homemaker in Columbus Ohio. Hounds in the Kitchen is where I share my family's adventures. Thanks for joining us!
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So how can you tell if your backyard chicken has salmonella? Is there an easy / cheap test?
Nate @ House of Annie´s last [type] ..Pandan Spiral Moon Cake Recipe
Rachel, it is also interesting to note that the existence of Salmonella Enteritidis in eggs, which is the type of Salmonella that affects humans, was largely driven by us. Chicken flocks were commonly colonized with Salmonella Gallinarum, which did not affect humans, but did lead to higher mortality, fewer eggs and smaller chickens. In an attempt to get more eggs and meat from the birds flocks infected with gallinarum were killed. This left a perfect environment for enteritidis to flourish. So, now instead of a colonization with an organism that results in fewer eggs per chicken but does not affect humans, we now have chickens who can lay a lot of eggs, but…. They can make you sick. Personally, if I’m going to be making something with uncooked or under cooked eggs… I just go with pasturized. I might live through a Salmonella infection, but would also like to get through life without an episode of bloody diarrhea and vomiting if possible
Rachel – do you have thoughts on how long farm fresh eggs stay good? I was thinking of stocking up for after my egg CSA ends in October and the markets shut down, but don’t know how long I should count on them lasting…
Laura Rees´s last [type] ..What to do with CSA this week- 9-25-10
In your statement “the myth that backyard eggs are best” you called it a myth but failed to present references. For example, Raising Organic Chickens, Salmonella, and the Issues of Outdoor Access by Robert Hadad, Director of Farming Systems, Farm Animals and Sustainable Agriculture Section
Humane Society of the United States provides plenty of data supporting the diminished likelihood of contacting salmonella by avoiding big farm chickens. He, in fact, states in not so many words, “backyard eggs are best”.
Further, in a report on FDA activity in the Washington Post in July 2009, “… a final rule, issued by the FDA, to reduce the contamination in eggs. About 142,000 Americans are infected each year with Salmonella enteritidis from eggs, the result of an infected hen passing along the bacterium. About 30 die.”
Commercial flocks test as high as 100% positive for salmonella. Do backyard birds get infected with salmonella? Absolutely. But for as little as $20 they can be tested and you, as an individual, have the knowledge and power to deal with it. It’s not about cost it’s about having a healthy choice. Choice. I rant because so many municipalities are not chicken friendly but you can own as many pit bulls or anacondas as you like.