Avoid Illnesses from Eggs and Chicks During Easter, Passover Celebrations

ANNAPOLIS, MD  – The Maryland Department of Agriculture reminds citizens that incorrectly handling eggs or live poultry, such as chicks and ducklings, can cause serious illnesses, and any plans to decorate eggs or purchase chicks for the Easter or Passover holidays should be undertaken with care and forethought.

“MDA’s Food Quality Assurance Section enforces the Maryland Egg Law, which has some of the most stringent quality control standards in the nation, and our Animal Health Section is responsible for controlling animal diseases transmissible to humans,” said Agriculture Secretary Buddy Hance. “The Easter and Passover holidays can challenge both of these efforts because the risk of people contracting illnesses through inappropriate handling of eggs or live poultry is significantly higher than most any other time of year.”

Tips for Safe Egg Decorating:

Because eggs are handled more than usual when they are being hard boiled, dyed and hunted for fun, the risk of eggs being contaminated with bacterium is also higher. A few simple precautions, however, can help prevent food borne illness and ensure a happy holiday.

• Start by buying clean eggs with uncracked shells before the “Sell-By” or expiration date on the carton. Choose Grade A or AA eggs that are refrigerated. Look at the eggs to make sure they are clean and unbroken. There is no need to wash the eggs at home – commercial producers carefully wash and sanitize the eggs prior to putting in the carton. 
• Discard cracked eggs. Bacteria can enter through cracks and contaminate the egg inside. 
• If you plan to eat the eggs you decorate, be sure to use only food grade dye. 
• Although it is best not to eat eggs used in an outdoor egg hunt, if you do, the total time for hiding and hunting eggs should be no more than two hours. Eggs found hours later or the next day should NOT be eaten! 
• If you are not going to eat the decorated eggs, they should still be hard boiled. Raw eggs can crack more easily and pose a threat, especially to children who tend to put their fingers in their mouths. 
• Keep hard-cooked eggs chilled in the refrigerator until just before the hunt. Hard cooked eggs should be consumed within 5 days of hard boiling.
• Don’t hide eggs where they may come into contact with lawn chemicals, pets, wild animals, insects, birds and other bacteria sources.
• Always wash your hands with warm water and soap before and after handling raw eggs. To avoid cross-contamination, wash forks, knives, spoons and all counters and other surfaces that touch the eggs with hot water and soap.
• Never eat raw eggs. This includes “health-food” milk shakes with raw eggs, Caesar salad, Hollandaise sauce, and any other foods like homemade mayonnaise, ice cream, or eggnog made from recipes in which the raw egg ingredients are not cooked.

Tips for Handling Live Poultry

Contact with live poultry can be a source of human Salmonella infections, which can cause a diarrheal illness in people that ranges from mild to life threatening. MDA – along with the Centers for Disease Control – recommends against buying chicks for children as Easter presents. Each spring, chicks are specially hatched in large quantities and then shipped around the country – a practice that makes them much more prone to disease. For those who choose to purchase chicks, here are some tips:

• Purchase chickens only from hatcheries that are certified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP)  and have a permit from MDA. See list here.  The NPIP hatcheries follow strict biosecurity practices, maintain detailed records of where their chicks come from, and have had their sites and chickens tested for particularly debilitating diseases. (Don’t buy chicks through an online mail order operation.)
• Be aware that chicks and other live poultry can carry Salmonella germs and still appear healthy and clean. 
• Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water right after touching live poultry or anything in the area where they live and roam. Adults should supervise hand washing for young children. 
• Don’t let children younger than five years of age, elderly persons, or people with weak immune systems handle or touch chicks, ducklings, or other live poultry.
• Clean any equipment or materials associated with raising or caring for live poultry outside the house, such as cages or feed or water containers.
• Don’t let live poultry inside the house, in bathrooms, or especially in areas where food or drink is prepared, served, or stored, such as kitchens, or outdoor patios. 
• Don’t snuggle or kiss the birds, touch your mouth, or eat or drink around live poultry.

Even if the chicks are handled properly, parents should give serious thought to what they will do with the chicks after the holiday and if they are prepared to raise a chicken. See “6 Steps to Keeping Poultry Healthy”. 

Also note that any backyard flock owners with five or more birds must register their location with MDA so that the agency can contact flock owners immediately when a potential disease is identified. Register your flock.   

For more information about Salmonella risks and handling chicks.

For more information on food safety and regulations, contact MDA’s Food Quality Assurance Program at 410-841-5769.

Information is also available from the FDA.  

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