Why is it your told not to eat cake mix because it has raw eggs. Yet people like body builders swallow whole raw eggs?
In: Biology
Salmonella, although in eggs it is very rare for it to cause a problem, however when making a cake mix you want your eggs at room temperature (gives your cake a better crumb structure among other things) and so it is more likely for salmonella bacteria to grow to dangerous levels. Most bodybuilders who consume raw egg generally consume it in something like a smoothie or straight from the fridge, which means the bacteria generally can’t grow to dangerous levels.
Source: Baker by trade, Food Health and Safety is my jam…
The problem with raw cake mix is not in fact the raw eggs, which can harbour salmonella, but are generally relatively safe for healthy adults. The problem is the uncooked flour, which can be contaminated with E. coli to dangerous levels.
Commercial ‘raw cookie dough’ products (e.g. cookie dough ice cream) use treated flour in order to be safe.
See [this page from the CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/communication/no-raw-dough.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Ffeatures%2Fno-raw-dough%2Findex.html).
The salmonella is carried in the shell, better safe than sorry I suppose. The raw egg itself is no danger, tmk.
Raw eggs caused salmonella a few years ago but nowadays it is pretty much eradicated so people still say not to eat them so as to not run the risk
It is most likely a liability issue. If you consume raw egg and get violently ill, that could be a lawsuit, so it is best to avoid this by warning against it. Many people eat raw or under-baked dough and are fine, but it isn’t work the risk.
Additionally, many bodybuilders who buy raw eggs in bulk will buy them pasteurized. They are lightly heated to kill most pathogens and thus are safer to consume for longer -much like most milk.
Interestingly, in some countries eating raw eggs is totally normal. I am currently living in Japan and regularly eat raw eggs. Food safety regulations are quite different here and general quality is higher so this is extremely common.
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