Bird Flu: Are Eggs safe to eat?

Are eggs safe to eat?

Poultry and egg sales have fallen in recent weeks as people worry that they are safe to eat in the wake of the recent bird flu scare. Government and experts have stepped in to reassure people that eggs are safe and the risk of bird flu being passed to a human through eating an egg is negligible.

If an egg was somehow contaminated with the bird flu virus cooking the egg will kill the virus. Scientists recommend the cooking of eggs not because of bird flu, but because of the much higher risk of salmonella.

All bird flu cases to date have been caught by people living or working in close proximity to infected birds, there is no suggestion that eating eggs or poultry could result in an increased risk of bird flu.