Egg safety tips for Easter
Egg safety tips for Easter
Egg safety tips for Easter
3/18/2024
Easter is just two weekends away, and children are eagerly awaiting the fun and excitement of Easter egg hunts planned at their homes, schools, and churches. However, if eggs are not prepared and stored properly, they can be unsafe and cause foodborne illness. The following tips will help you ensure safe preparation of hard-boiled Easter eggs for happy hunting and consuming.
Buying and storing eggs
Purchase refrigerated eggs that are not dirty or cracked and are within the “sell by” or expiration date. Take the eggs straight home from the store and refrigerate them immediately.
Cooking and cooling eggs
To properly hard-boil eggs, place a single layer of eggs in a saucepan with water one inch above the eggs. Cover the pan and bring the water to a boil. Turn off the heat and remove the saucepan from heat to prevent further boiling. Keep the eggs covered in the hot water for 15 minutes (18 minutes for extra large eggs and 21 minutes for jumbo eggs). Then cool the eggs completely in cold running water or in iced water and refrigerate immediately after cooling. If the hard-boiled eggs are air-cooled on the countertop, eggs with intact shells can be unrefrigerated at room temperature for up to one day.
Dying eggs
When dying hard-boiled Easter eggs, use only food-grade dye, and do not color eggs with cracked shells. Wash your hands thoroughly before handling the eggs. Ensure the decoration of the eggs takes less than two hours, and refrigerate the eggs immediately afterwards until it’s time to hide them for the Easter egg hunt.
Hiding and hunting eggs
Use refrigerated hard-boiled eggs within one week. When hiding the eggs indoors or outdoors, avoid areas where the eggs might come into contact with pets, wild animals, insects, and lawn chemicals. Plan the egg hunt so that the eggs will only be unrefrigerated for no more than two hours, and then refrigerate the found eggs right away. Do not eat any found eggs with cracked shells or eggs found hours later or the next day.
Alternatively, you might consider using one set of eggs for decorating and hiding and the other set for eating. Using plastic eggs for hiding and hunting is another way to avoid contamination of harmful bacteria.
To all of Guam’s families from the University of Guam Cooperative Extension & Outreach family, have a safe and happy Easter!
Jian Yang, Ph.D., is an extension specialist and professor of food science with University of Guam Cooperative Extension & Outreach. He can be reached at (671) 735-2027 or jyang@triton.uog.edu.