Salmonella Inactivation During the Preparation of Omelets, Poached Eggs, and Scrambled Eggs

Salmonellosis remains a significant public health concern, often linked to egg consumption. This study evaluated Salmonella inactivation in omelets, scrambled eggs, and poached eggs. Egg yolks were contaminated with a Salmonella cocktail and incubated at 37°C for 24 h, achieving approximately 8 log CFU/g. These eggs were used to prepare omelets in a frying pan for 5–7 min, testing different cooking times due to the lack of a standard. Scrambled eggs were cooked on direct heat for 3–8 min, followed by 1 min off the heat. Poached eggs were cooked in boiling water for up to 8 min, following Le Cordon Bleu recipes. Salmonella survivors were quantified on xylose lysine deoxycholate (XLD) agar and confirmed by ISO 6579:2022. Scrambled eggs and omelets showed Salmonella levels below the limit of enumeration after 5 min of cooking, when fully coagulated. However, poached eggs made with refrigerated eggs required longer cooking to achieve equivalent Salmonella inactivation compared with those at room temperature. Eggs stored at room temperature (28°C) showed a mean reduction of 7.4 log CFU/g after 5 min, whereas, eggs stored at 5°C achieved a similar 7.6 log CFU/g reduction only after 7 min. At 5 min, the difference in Salmonella inactivation between poached eggs prepared from room‐temperature and refrigerated eggs was 4.4 log CFU/g. These results demonstrate that lower egg storage temperature delays heat penetration and requires longer cooking to achieve equivalent microbial reduction, emphasizing the importance of controlling both initial contamination level and cooking time, especially for poached eggs with partially coagulated yolks considered ready‐to‐eat.