Last week I wrote about how the food Blue eats is a primary concern for me. I want him to eat nutritious, well-balanced meals, made with food that is safe for him to eat. The latest food recall has really made me think about the kinds of foods he eats and how to makes sure the food I am giving him is safe to eat.

Which brings me to the topic of eggs.

Mommy, Blue and Chickens

Eggs are one of those foods that are confusing for parents, especially first time parents. I have heard (and read) from other parents and parenting websites that I shouldn’t feed my baby any eggs at all for the first year. But I’ve also heard that I could feed Blue just the egg yolks or just the egg whites. Needless to say, I didn’t know what to think about what part of the egg, if any, was safe for Blue. So, when it was time to start introducing finger foods, I talked to his pediatrician about it. Blue’s pediatrician told me that it was fine to give eggs to Blue* and that I didn’t have to worry about whether to give him the yolks or the whites, that I could fix the whole egg and give it to him. So we do. In fact, Blue had scrambled eggs for breakfast twice this weekend!

But what about Salmonella and the eggs that have been recalled? My husband and I have our own chickens, so I wasn’t worried about the recalled eggs, but what if our chickens were infected with Salmonella and passed it on to the eggs? How did I make sure Blue didn’t get sick? These thoughts prompted me to do a little research. I read several articles about Salmonella and came to the conclusion that eggs are still safe to feed my baby! I wouldn’t feed him eggs that I KNEW to be at risk of being infected with Salmonella, but there were things I could do to minimize, if not eliminate, the chances of getting sick. According to the CDC, what I need to do is make sure the eggs are clean, promptly refrigerated at 45ºF (or cooler) and are cooked thoroughly (no raw cookie dough!).

Blue loves to eat eggs, and we are going to continue giving them to him to eat, as they are a great source of several important nutrients. But we will make a greater effort to clean, cool and cook our eggs properly before eating them and I hope you do as well!

For a complete list of the CDC’s recommendations, please click here.

*Please talk to your child’s doctor regarding the foods he/she deems safe for babies to eat as your pediatrician may have views that differ from Blue’s.

~Guest Post by MRS