- Print this page
- Download as PDF
- Share this page
Restaurants, cafés, bakeries and caterers that serve foods that contain raw or lightly cooked need to follow safe handling practices or use a safer alternative.
Large foodborne illness outbreaks have been associated with foods made from raw eggs including:
- sauces and spreads such as mayonnaise, aioli, hollandaise and egg butter
- desserts made without a cooking step, such as cheesecake, tiramisu and mousse
- lightly cooked foods, such as custard, fried ice cream, some ice cream and gelato made on the premises
- drinks such as eggnog, egg flip and protein smoothies.
Outbreaks can harm customers and adversely impact the reputation or trading ability of a business.
Use safer alternatives
Businesses should use safer alternatives to raw eggs in foods which are not cooked to reduce the risk of food poisoning.
These include:
- commercially produced dressings, sauces and spreads
- pasteurised egg products, such as:
- liquid, frozen or dried forms of processed whole eggs, egg whites and egg yolks
- sugared egg yolk (for desserts)
- salted egg yolk (for mayonnaise, dressings and sauces).
Pasteurisation destroys disease-causing organisms such as Salmonella.
Businesses that choose to use raw egg foods are responsible for ensuring the risk of Salmonella contamination is managed. Special attention must be given to the preparation, storage and handling of eggs and raw egg products.
Receiving and storing eggs
Dirty or cracked eggs are more likely to be contaminated and can increase the risk of food poisoning.
Only buy and receive whole eggs that are:
- clean, not cracked or leaking
- stamped
- supplied in clean packaging
- correctly labelled with name of the food, the supplier’s name and address, and lot identification or date marking.
Store whole eggs should be refrigerated below 5°C and use by the ‘best before’ date.
Always check eggs before use.
Separate eggs safely
If Salmonella is on the egg shell, it could be spread throughout the kitchen and onto other foods.
- Wash and dry hands before and after handling eggs. Do not separate eggs using bare or gloved hands.
- Minimise contact between the egg shell and contents.
- Use a sanitised egg separator. Do not separate eggs using the egg shell.
- Do not store liquid raw eggs. Once whole eggs are cracked, use them immediately in the raw egg product.
Acidify raw egg products
To stop Salmonella from growing, acidify raw egg product to a pH at or below 4.2 using vinegar or lemon juice. Check and record the pH with a pH meter or pH paper.
Keep acidified raw egg products at or below 5°C.
Make acidified raw egg product fresh every day in small tubs, not in bulk.
Discard acidified raw egg product within 24 hours.
Keep it clean
Sanitation and hygiene is important to prevent Salmonella spreading to other foods made by the business.
- Clean and sanitise kitchen equipment used for making raw egg products before and after each use.
- Clean and sanitise storage containers and dressings/sauce dispensers between each batch.
- Use separate containers for each batch of food (i.e. do not top up previous dressings and sauces).
- Keep kitchen surfaces and utensils clean and dry.
- Do not wash eggs as this makes them susceptible to further contamination.
More information