Bacon & Ham??

[2ndtimemum]

Thanks ladies! I think I'll stick to as you as making sure it's hot and freshly cooked. I had a bacon and egg toasted sandwhich for lunch mmmmm just trying to get used to not having runny egg lol

Pasturised eggs are ok to eat runny (and as far as I am aware all, or at least all common brands, of eggs in Australia are pasturised.

I did a lot of research on Listeria (both for a pregnant person and a person undergoing Chemotherapy) and much of the information that floats around is exaggerated or incorrect. Provided food is prepared hygienically (you can get of the food safe web site) and has been kept at proper standards, the risk of Listeria is eliminated. It is still possible for it to remain in things like cold meat and soft cheeses as they are often not heated to the required temperatures to destroy the Listeria in the first place, thus the reason they are the most well known to carry it, but as said previous posts, in this day and age that risk is very minimal (although if you did happen to be in that very minor % the outcome is almost guaranteed to be devastating).

I suggest eating food from reputable places and avoid eating the items that are higher on the 'risk' chart for listeria (soft cheese, cold [and some hot] meats - unless you are certain they were heated to above 70 degree celcius all the way through to the middle and then stored correctly first, soft serve ice cream - unless you are certain of correct, hygienic methods for the cleaning of the machines and many take away foods - unless the foods come to you piping hot, so ask for it fresh).

[Possums]

That's interesting about the eggs, thanks

[Chow]

I'm eating ham too but instead of getting it from the deli i have been buying the prepacked stuff from the fridge so there is less chance of "koodies"

I think as long as you use good judgement most things are fine. I would be missing soft eggs too but even the smell of eggs is enough to turn me green at the moment!

[sunshine_sieben]

2ndtimemum, interesting about the eggs. Where did you get that info from that eggs in Australia are pasteurised? Just wondering as my packet of Woolworths Select Eggs doesn't say anything about them being pasteurised. And I couldn't find any info to that respect in a quick online search either. I would be a little disappointed if they just don't state the fact whether they're apasteurised or not on the packet. Not that it's a bad thing, but I think the consumer should know... On milk it states that it has been homogenised and pasteurised.

About the soft cheese: Most cheeses (soft & hard) in Australia have been made with pasteurised milk which reduces (but doesn't eliminate) the risk when compared with soft cheese made from unpasteurised milk.

Saša

[Serenitylee]

I still eat bacon and ham occasionally. I think the MAIN thing to be careful of is if it is not very fresh.

[Toomanytoomany]

They just make me want to hurl, unfortunately. So no, I'm not eating them

[Serenitylee]

I wouldn't eat anything that made me feel sick or didn't look to appealing. I am very careful with what I eat and my appetite has changed a fair bit and some of my favourite foods just smell so bad now or I cringe when i see them. I am lucky to eat ham once a week IF that. Maybe once a fortnight. I only usually have it in sandwiches and as for bacon. I haven't had that in over 2 months It's fruit and vegies all the way for me!

[Ellee05]

2nd time mum - thats really interesting. And as you say most of the time the risk can be managed. I'm perhaps being extra cautious as I live in a community where the food quality/standard is nothing compared to the cities etc.

Thanks so much for all your replies, it really is an eye opener and I guess with bubs being a surprise package I didn't really have time to prepare/research for what I was in for, also I find a lot of information contradicting the next piece I read.

Hope you all feeling better soon. My worst time is from 530pm till I go to bed

[2ndtimemum]

2ndtimemum, interesting about the eggs. Where did you get that info from that eggs in Australia are pasteurised? Sa?a

I can't remember where I first read that information, I think it was the Australian Food Safe website... Although a quick search found me this: "The law requires that all egg products sold in Australia for consumption be pasteurized." from the public health of WA website.

[sunshine_sieben]

Mmmm, yes, I had found this type of information, too. But it talks about egg products, not whole egg in their shells. When I had a look around the net, the advice I found was to use pasteurised egg if you prepare foods that contain uncooked egg (eg. tiramisu) for the elderly or immuno suppressed. The site further stated that pasteurised whole eggs can be found at some supermarkets, suggesting, that most eggs are not pasteurised. I found that info on a few different australian sites.

So, I think if you buy ready made tiramisu in the desert section, they probably used pasteurised egg products to make it. But I doubt that the majority of fresh eggs are pasteurised...

Not exactly definitive information, but an indication nonetheless.

[2ndtimemum]

Mmmm, yes, I had found this type of information, too. But it talks about egg products, not whole egg in their shells. When I had a look around the net, the advice I found was to use pasteurised egg if you prepare foods that contain uncooked egg (eg. tiramisu) for the elderly or immuno suppressed. The site further stated that pasteurised whole eggs can be found at some supermarkets, suggesting, that most eggs are not pasteurised. I found that info on a few different australian sites.

So, I think if you buy ready made tiramisu in the desert section, they probably used pasteurised egg products to make it. But I doubt that the majority of fresh eggs are pasteurised...

Not exactly definitive information, but an indication nonetheless.

Whole eggs are classed as egg products.

"WHAT ARE EGG PRODUCTS?
Egg products are considered to be the content of egg, as part or whole, in liquid, frozen or dried form, liquid whole egg, mixtures of liquid (Includes egg yolk and liquid egg white, liquid egg yolk or liquid egg white)."

[sunshine_sieben]

All that it means is that it can be part of the contents, or the whole contents. But eggs in their shell are not classified as egg products.

[Neenee Jellybeanie]

About listeria; I've worked in delis before and the hygene standards of the staff are not always perfect (my deli was a particularly good one but it really depends on the staff handling the meat at the time). Even when products are actually being processed (bacon and such), the standards are high IN THEORY but at the end of the day, it's the staff who need to implement the policies and they often don't. E.g. I know someone who worked at a meat processing factory and some of the people working there would eat bacon (arguing that it's partly cooked like ham, lol!) while working. I used to work at a shellfish processing factory and we only ever washed our boots and used the correct entrances on the day the health inspector was due. Again, people would eat lobster while working. Obviously eating while processing food is unhygenic and things like this happen all the time. I don't know, I guess my point is that while we theoretically have high standards, it often is not that way in practice.