Seven Steps to Safer Eggs

1. Do not eat raw or undercooked eggs; this includes foods like cookie dough and cake batter. Homemade foods containing raw eggs include ice cream, eggnog, mayonnaise, Caesar salad dressing and Hollandaise sauce.
2. Cook eggs thoroughly so that both the yolk and white are solid. Eggs and egg-rich foods should be cooked throughout to an internal temperature of at least 160 degrees for at least 15 seconds.
3. Refrigerate eggs at 40 degrees or below and remove eggs from the refrigerator just prior to cooking.
4. When purchasing eggs, look for eggs that are not past their expiration, use by, or sell by dates which are marked on the egg carton and use the eggs before the use by date.
5. When preparing eggs and egg-rich foods keep eggs out of the refrigerator for no more than two hours total not including cooking time. Throw away eggs and egg-rich foods that have been left out for more than two hours total; reheating these foods will not make them safe.
6. Follow good sanitary practices when preparing eggs and egg-rich foods. Wash hands, eating utensils, cutting boards and other equipment and work surfaces with hot, soapy water before and after they come in contact with eggs and egg-rich foods.
7. Consider buying pasteurized eggs or egg substitute especially when eggs will not be cooked as in recipes for homemade foods such as eggnog, Caesar salad dressing or ice cream. Pasteurized destroys any Salmonella bacteria that may be present.