Tammy Roberts, MS, RD, LD, Nutrition and Health Education Specialist, Bates County, University of Missouri Extension
If you’re planning on dyeing and hunting Easter eggs this year, it’s important to follow food safety rules to prevent illness.
- Keep fresh eggs refrigerated in the original carton until it’s time to cook them. Eggs are a high protein food and are prone to rapid growth of the disease-causing bacteria Salmonella.
- Hard-cooked eggs can spoil faster than fresh ones — eggs are porous and bacteria can penetrate the shell. A protective coating that is added when eggs are washed at the plant washes away during boiling, which makes it easier for bacteria to enter the shell. Therefore, it is important to refrigerate hard-cooked eggs within two hours of cooking.
- Don’t hide the same eggs you plan to eat. Plan to hide plastic eggs and decorate hard-boiled eggs for eating only…
The American Egg Board has a recommendation for cooking tender eggs with no green ring…
If you don’t want to worry about the safety of the egg, empty eggshells can be dyed and kept indefinitely…
For all of the helpful tips to ensure that you have a happy and healthy Easter, see the full version of this article at http://missourifamilies.org/
