How to serve raw egg cocktails safely.

This article has been written by Pilla Founder, Liam Jones, click to email Liam directly, he reads every email.

Raw eggs are a classic ingredient in many traditional cocktails. Many recipes can be enhanced by nature of flavour and appearance by use of raw eggs in cocktails. When raw eggs are shaken in a cocktail the protein is agitated and when it mixes with air it produces a foamy layer on top.

It is essential that the hygiene policy is in place to ensure that staff follow strict procedures and guidelines so that cross contamination of food with pathogenic bacteria does not occur.

Staff must follow the following safety points in order to achieve a consistent level of safety.

Pasteurised eggs

Pasteurised liquid egg is an alternative to shell eggs, they can provide a safer alternative as a previous heat treatment will kill off pathogenic bacteria.

Pasteurised liquid egg must be stored correctly in refrigerated storage below 5°c and use by dates must be adhered to strictly.

Once the seal has been broken on the bottle/carton the product must be kept chilled and used within 2 days. E.g. Opened Monday must be used by the end of Wednesday.

It is the policy of the company that only pasteurized liquid egg can be used in drinks that require egg, raw eggs must not be used in drinks under any circumstances.

Vulnerable groups

Any customer that falls into the category of being a vulnerable person must be warned by staff that the product contains raw pasteurised eggs.

Vulnerable groups include the very young, the elderly, pregnant ladies and anyone who is immunocompromised or immunosuppressed.

Corrective actions if things go wrong

• •Discard any bottles / cartons of pasteurised egg if found to be damaged in any way including seals not intact, out of use by date or the storage time has exceeded two days after opening.
• •Record any product that has been discarded and the reason.
• •Retrain any staff who do not follow the safety points and increase supervision until competency can be shown.