Ian Young warned that people who are young, elderly, pregnant or vulnerable should make sure eggs and egg products served in cafes and restaurants have been very well cooked. The Food Standards Agency also told under-fives, over-65s, women who are pregnant and people with health conditions to avoid under-cooked or runny eggs when eating out during a salmonella outbreak.
The advice covers freshly-made foods that can contain uncooked eggs, including mayonnaise, souffle and hollandaise sauce. The UK Health Security Agency has declared a national outbreak of salmonella food poisoning after one person died and hundreds more fell ill, with more than 200 cases linked to the outbreak across the UK.
Food Standards Agency advice
The Food Standards Agency said well-cooked eggs in restaurants, cafes and from takeaways were fine to eat. Young also said, “If people are eating out or consuming eggs or egg-containing products from cafes and restaurants then for those people in particular who are young, elderly, pregnant or vulnerable, it's important to make sure that any eggs or egg products that you consume in those settings have been very well cooked.”
He also said, “There is no link to those eggs to this current outbreak.” That refers to British eggs bought from supermarkets, which he said are not linked to the outbreak because chickens bred in the UK are vaccinated against common strains of salmonella.
UK outbreak spread
The outbreak has been described as unusually large and rapidly increasing. Genetic testing suggests the infections are part of the same outbreak, and the majority of cases are across England.
Investigations into individual cases suggest the eateries involved were buying eggs from abroad. That is the clearest lead so far, but the warning still has to work on the floor: vulnerable diners need to treat runny eggs and uncooked egg sauces as off-limits when eating out, even though well-cooked eggs remain fine.
For readers who fall into the higher-risk groups, the practical step is simple: ask for eggs and egg-containing dishes to be fully cooked, and avoid runny versions, mayonnaise, souffle and hollandaise sauce in cafes and restaurants until the outbreak investigation is finished.
CDC Tracks 98 Illnesses in Salmonella Outbreak Linked To Eggs offers more detail on a separate outbreak linked to eggs, while a major Eggs Recall cartons notice shows how product action can follow when a source is identified.
