Eggs can be safely dyed and eaten over the Easter holiday by following a few simple food safety rules when cooking, cooling, and handling them.
Easter is around the corner, and it's time to start thinking about how to decorate your eggs.
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Whether you're dyeing eggs for your table spread or planning to hide them for an egg hunt, it's important to follow food safety guidelines to minimise germs and maximise your egg quality.
There's no rush to eat your eggs
Eggs are remarkably long-lasting, so there is no need to rush to eat them.
“Stores usually do turn over eggs pretty quickly, so the recommendation is you should consume eggs three to five weeks after you purchase them,” said Kara Lynch, food safety educator with Michigan State University Extension in the United States.
There is also a benefit to letting eggs age a bit, as older eggs shrink over time within the shell, creating an air pocket between the egg and the shell, making them easier to peel.
Eggs are better hard-boiled
Egg processors clean eggs before they reach store shelves, but it is also important to thoroughly cook eggs to reduce the risk of foodborne illness, especially salmonella, which can cause fever, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea within 12 to 36 hours of eating contaminated food.
To cook eggs, place them in a saucepan, fill it with water, and bring it to a boil for about 12 minutes.
You can vary the time in the hot water depending on the desired hardness for harder-boiled or slightly creamier eggs, but the yolk should be fairly solid to be safe.
Boiling them for too long can risk creating green sulphur residue on the outside of the yolk.
How to cool the eggs
After boiling, you can run the eggs under cold water to reduce the temperature or let them air dry until they’ve cooled, said Don Schaffner, food science department chair at Rutgers University in the US.
The boiling process sanitises the eggs, and as long as they are kept out of water, Schaffner noted, they will remain safe to eat.
“You’ve boiled the egg, you’ve gotten rid of any bacteria that might be in the egg. And now you’ve air-cooled it, right? So it’s going to cool more slowly, it’s probably going to cook more,” he said.
“But most importantly, you don’t have to worry about any bacteria from the water getting internalised into the egg.”
It’s okay to get food dye on your eggs
Either artificial or natural food dye is fine to use, as long as the dye label says it's food grade. For those keeping track, the European Food and Safety Authority keeps an updated list of food colours authorised for use in the European Union.
And no, it's not a problem if the dye seeps through the shell.
“Eggs kind of naturally have their own abilities to absorb only so much,” said Kimberly Baker, associate extension specialist at Clemson University.
While decorating, she suggested keeping the eggs in an ice bath so they can stay at a cooler temperature.
Follow the two-hour rule
Eggs should generally be kept at or below 4.4 degrees Celsius to minimise the risk of contamination.
Cooked eggs that weren't air-cooled shouldn’t be more than two hours at room temperature; including the time spent decorating and the time spent hiding during the Easter egg hunt.
If it's particularly warm, however, that two-hour rule may be shortened to one hour, Lynch said.
Hard-boiled eggs are generally good for about a week in the fridge. Give your eggs a rinse before peeling
Handle the eggs with care
One of the biggest concerns is ensuring your eggs haven't cracked during an Easter egg hunt, making them vulnerable to contaminants. Once an egg has been hard-boiled, there is no way to kill bacteria that get inside, Baker said.
“We don’t want to be putting them in the soil or in lawns where pets have gone to the bathroom,” she said.
Whether the eggs are hidden outdoors or in a corner of your home, you should rinse them in cool water before you peel them, and wash your hands in case the eggs have picked something up.
Consider using plastic eggs
If the Easter egg hunt means your eggs will be at room temperature for longer than two hours, experts recommend using plastic eggs for the hunt instead of real ones to minimise food safety risk.
“If it’s an outdoor Easter egg hunt at any time, I would say go with the plastic eggs and be safe,” Baker said. “And use your dyed Easter eggs as your centrepiece on your table or your buffet, and enjoy them that way.”
