The Vaad Halacha of the Maayenei Hayeshiva Hospital in Bnei
Brak has issued a call to the public to exercise great care
in purchasing food, especially eggs which can cause
salmonella infections. The letter was signed by HaRav Shmuel
Wosner, HaRav Nissim Karelitz and HaRav Yitzchok
Silberstein, senior members of the Vaad Halacha.
In their letter, referring to eggs that come for tainted
sources, the rabbonim write: "Since doctors found that there
is danger (sakonas nefoshos) it is obviously
forbidden al pi din to eat eggs that may be infected,
and it is forbidden to sell such eggs as well."
This week, twelve people were hospitalized and many more are
suffering from high fever, vomiting, and diarrhea after
eating homemade ice cream made from salmonella-infected eggs
at a sheva brochos in Bnei Brak. During the past
month, well over 30 people with salmonella poisoning have
been admitted to Maayenei Hayeshua Hospital in Bnei Brak.
A similar outbreak occurred in the U.K. about two years ago,
when a "kosher-type" caterer ignored government directives
prohibiting catering firms from using raw eggs in their
products, and sold chocolate mousse for Pesach made with raw
eggs. Many people became very seriously ill.
In an incident in the Israeli army two years ago, raw eggs
were used to make mayonnaise and several soldiers died in
the resulting salmonella-poisoning outbreak.
Contrary to common belief, the problem of salmonella in eggs
is not limited to a particular source, such as Arab eggs or
American eggs (although the incidence is lower in eggs from
Israeli government-supervised farms). The key factors in
whether the bacteria, which are present in chicken eggs from
all sources, develop to dangerous levels are the length of
time that passes before consumption and the temperature at
which the eggs are stored.
According to Dr. Singer, chief veterinarian at the Israeli
Department of Health, an egg can cause illness if the level
of bacteria reaches 10,000 per gram. Since bacteria
reproduce by splitting in two, their rate of increase is
geometric, and it doesn't take long to reach dangerous
levels. At 20 degrees C. (68 degrees F.), it takes 20 days.
Above 30 degrees C. (86 degrees F.), the level of salmonella
bacteria can reach dangerous proportions in just 2 days!
This is where Tnuva-marketed eggs in Israel have an
advantage over eggs sold by street vendors or door-to-door
salesmen (beitzei meshek -- which may be from the
same sources as the Tnuva eggs, but were "left over" after
Tnuva filled its quota). Tnuva stamps each egg with a date
when the egg reached its candling plant. This date is 14
days from the current date, and it is recommended that eggs
be bought only until the date stamped. If the eggs were kept
at a temperature below 20 degrees (far from a sure thing
during the summer in non-air conditioned stores), they are
still way below the danger level and may be used for another
month if kept refrigerated at home.
With beitzei meshek, on the other hand, there's no
way of knowing how fresh the eggs are and, besides, these
eggs are sometimes kept out in the sun for many hours. Eggs
from Arab sources, moreover, are completely unsupervised,
and may start off with much higher levels of bacteria. It
was found that many eggs sold in Bnei Brak outside of the
Tnuva marketing system are from the Palestinian
Authority.
Yated Ne'eman has found that such eggs are also
marketed in Yerushalayim in the chareidi neighborhoods, as
well as in the Machane Yehuda market.
How are commercial products such as ice cream and mayonnaise
made? Food manufacturers use pasteurized eggs, which retain
all the properties and nutritional value of raw eggs, but
have been heated to the point where the bacteria are
destroyed. Dr. Singer said that he hopes to see the day when
pasteurized eggs become available to the retail customer.
According to the Ministry of Health, until such a time as
pasteurized eggs come on the market, the safest thing is to
only eat eggs that are fully cooked. This means that
a sunny-side-up egg, for example, should be turned over and
cooked on both sides, and soft-boiled eggs should be
avoided. The Ministry does not recommend using raw eggs, no
matter what their source, in desserts, mayonnaise, etc.
If you can't resist making that homemade ice cream with raw
eggs, you can reduce the danger by buying the eggs in an air-
conditioned store and checking the date to make sure they're
fresh.
