Let’s bust a few myths about Salmonella.
Big Picture Salmonella is a bacilli. There are over 2,300 types; all are one-celled organisms. They can live in the intestinal tracts of living creatures and be passed to others by exposure to infected feces or by eating the meat of an infected animal not cooked to a proper temperature.
Illness “Salmonellosis” is the name of the illness when someone becomes infected by salmonella. While someone infected may not experience symptoms, a severe case will show up within 8 – 72 hours. Symptoms include stomach cramps, diarrhea, and sometimes a fever. It typically passes within several days without medication, but it can be serious, and even lead to death in children, the elderly, and pregnant women. On occasion, there are long-term side effects.
Preventing Salmonellosis Since salmonella is passed through exposure to an infected creature’s intestinal tract and/or feces, it all comes down to hygiene and food preparation. Cross contamination is of a particular concern. No one really knows what causes a case of salmonellosis unless they can prove the source. By the time that the symptoms hit, if they do, it is usually too late to run any testing.
Eggs It is extremely rare that an egg contains salmonella other than on the outside of the shell. For chickens that live in close quarters, since they typically peck at the ground for food, they are more likely to be exposed to salmonella living in their neighbors’ feces. The bacilli may come in contact with the shell of an egg. While it is possible that the bacilli may penetrate the egg’s porous shell, it is unlikely that it will do so. It would take a large amount of bacilli and the wrong food prep conditions for it to be passed on to a human consuming the egg.
UK Eggs After growing up in the US, it was shocking to me to discover that eggs were not refrigerated in the UK. What is even more surprising is that the UK hasn’t migrated towards the refrigeration method after the Edwina Currie Salmonella Scare in the 80’s. Yet, eggs are still sold in unrefrigerated sections of the shops. If this was still an issue with eggs, they would have been moved.