Immersion in Boiling Water to Disinfect Egg Shells Before Culturing Egg Contents for Salmonella enteritidis

Culturing egg contents has become an essential part of efforts to reduce the frequency of egg-associated transmission of Salmonella enteritidis (SE) to human consumers. Accurate and dependable results from such testing can be achieved only if the exterior surfaces of eggs are effectively disinfected to prevent any SE present on shells from contaminating the contents when eggs are broken for culturing. The present study determined that brief (5 s) immersion of eggs in boiling water was highly effective in reducing both the incidence and level of SE on the shells of experimentally contaminated eggs. This treatment did not, however, affect the recovery of SE added to the interior contents of eggs and was successfully applied to the isolation of SE from the contents of eggs laid by experimentally infected hens.