Scott wrote:

> In article >,
> Petey the Wonder Dog > wrote:
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>>I've never gotten sick one time from them.=20
>>
>>So how are they dangerous?
>>
>>Perhaps you should try cooking them?
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>=20
>>According to the National Library of Medicine, there are about 20 death=
s
>>each year in the US from salmonella. =20
>>
>>According to Carl A Mealie, MD, Medical Director of Emergency Care
>>Institute,, Chief of Clinical Operations, Department of Emergency
>>Medicine, Long Island Jewish Medical Center, Assistant Professor,
>>Department of Emergency Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine,
>>there are almost 100 deaths per year attributed to wasp stings.
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>=20
> There are deaths, but there also are sicknesses. According to the CDC, =

> 90% of food-borne illnesses go unreported; people often attribute their=
=20
> symptoms to a so-called 24-hour flu.
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> Also according to the CDC,=20
> "In affected parts of the United States,* we estimate that one in 50=20
> average consumers could be exposed to a contaminated egg each year. If =

> that egg is thoroughly cooked, the Salmonella organisms will be=20
> destroyed and will not make the person sick.

The premise here is flawed. It assumes that anything less than 100%=20
mortality of salmonella is still hazardous. The reason we have immune=20
systems is to deal with bacteria that are trying to invade us. It's=20
going on all the time and we're fighting it all the time. *All* the=20
bacteria don't need to be dead, just enough of them. The very young,=20
the elderly and the immune-compromised are at greater risk than the=20
general population, but even they can handle *some* contamination.

> Many dishes made in
> restaurants or commercial or institutional kitchens, however, are made =

> from pooled eggs. If 500 eggs are pooled, one batch in 20 will be=20
> contaminated and everyone who eats eggs from that batch is at risk.

Pooled eggs in restaurants are, by definition, scrambled. If the eggs=20
are heated to more than 140=B0F, the salmonella is dead. At that=20
temperature, the eggs are still liquid. They don't solidify until 160=B0 =

or more, depending on what else has been added to the eggs.

> A=20
> healthy person's risk for infection by Salmonella enteritidis is low,=20
> even in the northeastern United States, if individually prepared eggs=20
> are properly cooked, or foods are made from pasteurized eggs."

Cooking eggs to a soft scramble *is* pasteurizing them.

> * "Although most infected hens have been found in the northeastern=20
> United States, the infection also occurs in hens in other areas of the =

> country. In the Northeast, approximately one in 10,000 eggs may be=20
> internally contaminated. In other parts of the United States,=20
> contaminated eggs appear less common. Only a small number of hens seem =

> to be infected at any given time, and an infected hen can lay many=20
> normal eggs while only occasionally laying an egg contaminated with the=
=20
> Salmonella bacterium."
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> It's not simply a matter of cooking them, but of PROPERLY cooking them:=
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> "cooking reduces the number of bacteria present in an egg; however, an =

> egg with a runny yolk still poses a greater risk than a completely=20
> cooked egg. Undercooked egg whites and yolks have been associated with =

> outbreaks of Salmonella enteritidis infections. Both should be consumed=
=20
> promptly and not be held in the temperature range of 40 to 140 for more=
=20
> than 2 hours."

This last sentence is puzzling. The rule of thumb for food service is=20
to minimize the time that food is between 40=B0 and 140=B0. It's illegal =

in most jurisdictions to have food between those indices for 2 hours.=20
I assume they can't be talking about raw eggs because they can be=20
stored at room temp for weeks. Not too clear.

Pastorio