Is it safe to eat raw eggs?
I have a friend that is training for a marathon and he drinks 6 raw eggs before running (Yes, like Rocky) - is this safe?
Best Answer
Food safety experts and government organizations target their recommendations to what's safest for everyone, and would recommend against this. However, "safe" is a subjective term. It's all about managing risk levels. The odds of a given egg containing salmonella or other food-borne illness are pretty low. A healthy adult with a normal immune system can probably fend off any nasties, or at least recover from illness.
The source of the eggs has an effect on the risk levels as well, I believe. Organic free-range eggs are probably less risky than supermarket brands.
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Quick Answer about "Is it safe to eat raw eggs?"
Chickens and other live poultry can carry Salmonella bacteria. These germs can spread from the birds to their eggs. If you eat raw or undercooked eggs, you can get sick. Always handle and cook eggs properly to prevent illness.What will happen if you eat a raw egg?
Consuming contaminated eggs can cause food poisoning. Symptoms of Salmonella food poisoning include stomach cramps, diarrhea, vomiting, and fever. These symptoms usually appear 6 hours to 6 days after contracting an infection and may last 4 to 7 days after eating the food contaminated with the bacteria ( 1 ).Is it healthy to eat a raw egg?
Potential Health Benefits of Raw EggsThere are many vitamins, nutrients, and antioxidants found in raw eggs. Lutein and zeaxanthin are two important antioxidants that protect your eyes and make eye-related diseases less likely. In addition, raw eggs can also: Help your heart.Why do athletes eat raw eggs?
Eggs are one of the most nutrient-dense foods you can eat as they are packed with 13 different vitamins and nutrients and contain very high quality protein. And because of their excellent protein profile, raw egg whites have always been popular with athletes and bodybuilders.Is it Safe to eat Raw Eggs?
More answers regarding is it safe to eat raw eggs?
Answer 2
Bearing in mind the salmonella statistics given above., yes it is safe to eat raw eggs so long as you are not very young, very old, or immunocompromised in some way--e.g. HIV, chemotherapy, leukemia, etc.
Answer 3
If you're worried, you can dip the eggs into boiling water for, say, 10 seconds to sterilise the outside of the shell. As Robert Cartaino points out above, though, there might still be bacteria inside.
FWIW I've made mayonnaise many times without any ill effects.
Answer 4
I'd say it's as safe as eating any other food generally consumed rare or raw (beef, fish, oysters). It's certainly edible. I use raw egg whites in many things, but I buy them in bulk, ultra-pasteurized. I also prefer my eggs very runny. Yes there's an increased probability of food-borne illnesses but so does a rare steak or a medium hamburger.
Answer 5
It is relativly safe as long as you pay attention to some points:
Eggs should be as fresh as possible, so a possible salmonella contamination has no time to spread. Also organic or free range eggs should be preferred. In some egg-producing farms using battery cages up to 30% of the chickens are contaminated with salmonella and so the eggs.
Although other people here mention the improbability to get salmonella from eggs it is still possible. I myself got them from scrambled eggs hat I had not cooked properly (I think the eggs were about a week old, stored in the fridge and free range). I had the worst diarrhea in my life, fever up to 41°C/106°F and was in hospital for a week (read: not fun).
Answer 6
In the UK it is safe from a salmonella standpoint (assuming the eggs are lion branded).
The lion branch mark (applied to each individual egg) means that the chickens they come from are salmonella free (I assume they have been fed the antibiotic or anti viral or whatever it is)
I agree with the others that other things will have a bearing - age of egg in particular
Answer 7
There are pasteurized raw eggs that are safe to eat. One brand is http://www.safeeggs.com/
Or egg beaters I think
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