Can Runny Eggs Give You Salmonella? (2024)

A recent Delish Insta poll revealed many of y'all are more turned off than on by a runny yolk. If you're one of the people who is really into that kind of thing and are wondering why anyone wouldn't be, the answer is: salmonella. Many believe consuming a runny yolk — regardless of its degree of runniness — is a gateway for infections, but here's what professionals have to say about that.

Consuming an undercooked egg can make you sick.

The inside of eggs do sometimes carry salmonella. If that germ is there, it doesn't go away in a raw egg or even necessarily in a lightly cooked one, the CDC reports, which is why it's so important to cook your eggs properly. Your chance of having an egg with salmonella in it significantly decreases, though, if you're buying pasteurized products.

That does not mean you're going to get salmonella if you eat a lightly cooked egg.

Some of the best things in this world involve cooking an egg to that perfect runny yolk temp or even keeping them completely raw: salad dressings, hollandaise, real eggnogs, real mayos, tartars, tiramisus! Again, it is a best practice to only use pasteurized eggs in these instances — it's far more likely you're not going to get anything that way. That said, no one at the CDC or any other health organization is going to encourage you to eat raw eggs.

As far as runny yolks go, the same applies.

The CDC names 160°F as the benchmark temperature for the minimum an egg should be cooked at. If you're at least there, you're probably not looking at a salmonella-filled future.

You can minimize the risk of being infected.

It's as simple as making sure you buy refrigerated eggs and keeping them refrigerated yourself — this, too, is an egg best practice. Even leaving them out for a little while is encouraging any bacteria that may exist in there to multiply. If that is the case, throw your eggs out immediately. Another reason to throw out your eggs right away is if they are cracked or unclean.

There's one way to eliminate all concerns about this.

As the FDA puts it: "cook eggs until yolks are firm and cook foods containing eggs thoroughly."

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