If you had an Easter egg hunt or cooked eggs for your Passover
Seder, USDA has important advice to help you keep your family
safe from foodborne illness throughout the Spring
celebrations.
"Eggs play a key role in Spring religious holidays," said
Susan Conley, director of Food Safety Education for USDA's
Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). "Hard-cooked eggs
for Easter and Passover celebrations should be prepared with
care."
If you plan to eat the Easter eggs you decorate, be sure to
use only food grade dye. For an Easter egg hunt, avoid
cracking the egg shells. If the shells crack then bacteria
could enter and contaminate the egg inside.
Also, hide eggs in places that are protected from dirt,
pets and other bacteria sources and keep hard -cooked eggs
chilled in the refrigerator until just before the hunt. The
total time for hiding and hunting eggs should be no more than
two hours. Then be sure to refrigerate the "found" eggs right
away until you eat them.
Eggs found hours later or the next day should be thrown
out — not eaten!
Eggs also play and important role on the Seder plate during
Passover celebrations. If that egg sits out at room
temperature for more than two hours, it should not be eaten.
Since the hard-cooked eggs that are usually served to each
person as part of the special dinner are meant to be eaten,
keep those hard-cooked eggs in the refrigerator until ready to
serve.
When shell eggs are hard-cooked, the protective coating is
washed away, leaving open pores in the shell where harmful
bacteria could enter.
Be sure to refrigerate eggs within two hours of cooking and
use them within a week. Check your refrigerator temperature
with an appliance thermometer and adjust the refrigerator
temperature to 40°F (Fahrenheit) or below.
For egg safety - to stay healthy and avoid foodborne
illness — USDA advises:
Don't keep raw or cooked eggs out of the refrigerator
more than two hours.
Egg dishes such as deviled eggs or egg salad should
be used within 3 to 4 days.
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