Survival of Salmonella species in eggs poached using a microwave oven

The use of microwave ovens is becoming increasingly popular, but there is little data on the bactericidal effect of this mode of cooking. Following a family outbreak of gastroenteritis due to Salmonella enteritidis PT4, where eggs poached in a microwave oven were the suspected source, we investigated the survival of Salmonella spp. in artificially contaminated eggs cooked in a microwave oven. The survival of six serotypes of Salmonella at various inocula were studied, after cooking the eggs using two recognized poaching methods. Salmonellae were readily recovered after cooking if the yolk was still soft, whichever serotype, inoculum or cooking method was used. The survival of organisms was related to the number of organisms present in the raw eggs. The advice regarding eating lightly cooked eggs should be the same whether microwave or more conventional cooking techniques are used.