h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

As a concerned Brit waiting for the next scare, do any of these methods of starage guarentee zero risk of Samonella. However I must get some lime water and give that a go

I believe the only of these methods that will be effective against Salmonella is the hard-boiling of the eggs. In general, to kill the Salmonella organism one must cook the egg until the yolk is no longer runny. Personally, I believe the best defence against Salmonella is to buy your eggs from a local small-scale producer whose facilities you have inspected and found to be clean. Obviously, though, that isn't always practical.

Thermostabilization would be enough to kill the organism on the outside of the egg. The problem is that in some cases the hens are infected and deposit the organism in the yolk before the eggs are laid. There's no cure for this except for thorough cooking.

Yeah it just doesn't work for fresh made mayonaise though, I think I'll have to keep taking the risk.

risk of catching salmonella from eggs has always been slim to those in good health...the elderly,young children and pregnant women being more vunerable. The main risk always came from the transfer of bugs on the shell to other food (by not washing hands after handling) All our eggs are now being stamped with that friendly lion mark as a sign of quality since the instances of the bug in chickens has fallen dramatically anyway. This has to good news for all of us who love to dunk!!!

Well, I take the risk too, but it's something to be careful about. Then again, all of our eggs come from our own chickens, and I know where they've been, and that the flock is in good health. So the occasional raw egg does not bother me.

For more background on salmonella (and other food-borne pathogens) see http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~mow/intro.html .