Salmonella is a key cause of foodborne gastroenteritis around the world, with most outbreaks linked to eggs, poultry meat, pork, beef, dairy, nuts and fresh produce.
Now Flinders University researchers have found a simple solution for preventing salmonellosis affecting eggs through surface contamination, giving crucial help for food services industries.
Raw eggs are used in many food products such as mayonnaise, mousse, eggnog, and artisanal ice cream. However, a problem is associated with eggshells being contaminated with the bacterium Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (ST).
To address this issue, the Flinders research team aimed to develop a decontamination method that removed ST contamination from the eggshell without impacting the egg’s usability.
Using a method that employed equipment commonly found in commercial kitchens, the researchers decontaminated eggs by placing them in a sous-vide cooker with the water heated to 57C. Complete decontamination of ST was achieved by treating eggs for 9 minutes. The decontamination method uses kitchen equipment commonly used for sous-vide cooking,
The results, published recently in the journal Foodborne Pathogens and Disease, is the first study to look at decontamination of ST on the eggshell.
Mary Ann Liebert – Research Paper
FoodWorld 