Organic, free-range eggs less likely to carry salmonella (but no guarantees)

Q. I recently heard someone claim that you can't get salmonella poisoning from organic eggs. I thought that salmonella was a risk for ALL eggs. What's the truth?

A. You are correct that all eggs and poultry carry some risk of salmonella, which is the leading cause of food poisoning in the U.S.  Organic or free-range eggs and poultry are not immune from contamination with this bacteria. The only way to eliminate all risk of salmonella is to thoroughly cook all eggs and poultry to a temperature that kills the bacteria. (That means no runny yokes.)

That's not to say that every egg is contaminated. People regularly order their eggs sunny side up or easy over.  Classic recipes for Caesar salad dressing, mayonnaise, and chocolate mousse all involve raw eggs--and many enjoy these foods every day and live to tell the tale. Nonetheless there is always some risk involved. And it is true that the risk is lower with free-range eggs.

Conventionally (industrially) raised egg layers are kept confined in very close quarters, where as free-range layers have more space. The extra space translates into less contact with waste and lower contamination rates.  A recent British survey found that about about a quarter of caged hen  populations tested positive for salmonella, versus less than 5% of organic flocks and 6.5% of free-range flocks. In fact, the amount of salmonella contamination was directly parallel to the size of the flocks. Huge industrial chicken farms housing 30,000 or more birds had four times the level of bacteria of the smaller flocks mandated by U.K. organic standards.

Obviously, if you want to eat your eggs raw or undercooked, free-range, organic eggs are much safer (although the risk is not zero). They also appear to be a lot more nutritious.  Analysis conducted by Mother Earth News found that eggs from pasture-raised chickens contained twice the omega-3 content, three times more vitamin E, and a whopping seven times as much beta-carotene as commercially produced eggs. They also had a third less cholesterol and a fourth less saturated fat.

In my household, we buy all of our eggs right at farm at which they are laid, an arrangement that is becoming increasingly common as many Americans attempt to forge a more direct connection with their food suppliers. I know our layers have plenty of room to roam around because I see them lounging around in their huge pasture whenever I go up to the farm. To find an egg producer (or any other type of farmer) near you, check LocalHarvest.org.

If you are using pasture-raised eggs, here's a custom entry with nutrient values approximated based on the Mother Earth reports that you can add to your pantry and use for more accurate dietary analysis.