How are cocktails with raw egg as an ingredient made so people don’t get sick?
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Source: I’m a food safety guy. A lot of what is being said us true – that eggs are relatively safe in North America. But the main thing that really controls the risk is TIME. Even if there is a small amount of salmonella that comes off the shell (or more unlikely form inside the egg), the drink will be consumed fairly quickly, so there will not be a chance for the salmonella to reproduce in its new environment. Just don’t let your fresh egg drink or salad dressing sit around too long!
Raw eggs don’t automatically make you sick. But they can be contaminated with bacteria that can. Even if the bacteria is killed, the toxins they leave behind can make you sick anyway, so contamination isn’t always fixed by cooking. Proper sanitation and storage is key.
In a cocktail you’ve also got some antiseptic properties from the ethanol, although how much will depend on how strong they mix the drink.
Two major things.
First, eggs aren’t as dangerous as you night think. Salmonella is fairly uncommon, and regulators work hard to keep it that way.
Second. You’re mixing the egg with hard alcohol. Even in the case of drinks like traditional eggnog (set aside in a cool place for a few days to a couple weeks to age) the alcohol was very effective of not only inhibiting microbial growth, but also reducing the amount of already existing microbes (tasting history by max Miller has an excellent video on the subject).
Its not entirely raw.
Its possible to pasteurize a raw egg (rid it of bacteria) by cooking it briefly at a low heat, while keeping it raw. The USDA reccomends a 140° F bath for 3.5 mins. This can also be done out of t
he shell, and its easier to be accurate this way.
https://www.simplyrecipes.com/how-to-pasteurize-eggs-at-home-5185434#:~:text=For%20in%2Dshell%20eggs%20to,re%2Dstarted%20from%20the%20beginning.
In some countries, chickens are also vaccinated against salmonella, so people can store their eggs on a shelf, rather than refrigerate them.
PS, dont wash eggs, fruits and veggies until its time to prep them to eat.
Another thing that hasn’t been mentioned is the bad stuff in the eggs is mostly on the outside of the shell. So if you wash the egg and avoid exposing the yolk to the outside of the egg then it really has almost no chance of getting you sick
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