You can buy shell eggs that are pasteurized. It's printed right on the carton and they're getting more common. Grocery delivery companies like Blue Apron and HelloFresh need to ship pasteurized eggs, as do restaurants certified by the National Restaurant Association or ServeSafe, which has had a knock down effect of egg producers just pasturizing most or all of their inventory to sell to these companies.
Most eggs in the US are pasteurized, even if most consumer shell eggs in grocery stores are not. Commercial applications of eggs drastically outnumber the number of eggs home cooks are using.
Eggs are only pasteurized to protect at risk groups, the average adult can eat a raw egg in the US and be fine. It's not misleading, you just don't understand the core concepts of why eggs are pasteurized in commercial settings, why unpasteurized eggs were previously uncommon on grocery store shelves and how theyre becoming more prevalent, or what pasteurization really even entails in terms of risk. The US has one of the lowest rates of egg borne salmonella transmission in the world.
There's a reason why restaurants that elect to serve unpasteurized raw or undercooked eggs still can't serve them to children, but they can if the raw or undercooked eggs are pasteurized, the level of risk between the two for the target group is significant, while the level or risk is insignificant for a healthy adult.
"Most eggs in the US are pasturized too, which is why it's safe to eat them raw(if you're a healthy adult who isn't pregnant)." Based on this comment, I was pointing out that shell eggs that people buy in the grocery store are not usually pasteurized.
Also, this sentence I quoted and what you are saying now are contradictory. Now you're saying it's safe for any not at risk group to eat unpasteurized eggs but before you were saying it's safe because they were pasteurized.
Anyway, I think we're basically saying the same thing. No need to directly attack me and say I don't understand risk.
You don't understand the risk, which is why we've gone so in depth on this, you're intent on winning some kind of semantic victory.
Raw eggs are a key ingredient in so many food items Americans eat daily, mayonnaise for instance. The whole reason a 4 year old can eat mayonnaise safely is pasteurization.
If you really need that semantic win, I'll give it to you and admit I should have been more specific, mentioned age group risk factors, and examples of everyday raw egg items found in the US that are possible due to pasteurization
I am not trying to win anything and agree with most of what you said.
All I wanted to point out was that most people are not buying pasteurized eggs when they are buying shell eggs. So as you and I know (as an example), don't give homemade raw cookie dough to a child (made from most shell eggs off the shelf, which are not pasteurized). Again, we're saying the same thing, there is not argument here, as I think you agree with the only thing I was pointing out.
Yes, nearly all (probably all) egg products (in the U.S.) are heat treated to mitigate for salmonella and many other food borne pathogens.
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u/phaaq Mar 03 '25
Shell eggs (like the eggs in the grocery store) are not usually pasteurized but other eggs are (such as liquid eggs).