Are Liquid Eggs Safe?

Liquid eggs are whole eggs that have been washed, cracked open, separated, kept cold, and pasteurized with heavy machinery before they are packaged and sold. They aren’t full of chemicals to replicate the real thing, or using something different that works like eggs if that is what you are thinking.

Every year tens of billions of eggs are consumed, and of that portion, about a third of that percent are consumed out of the shell. This means that they were consumed as liquid eggs, frozen, or powered eggs. Liquid eggs are commonly used by restaurants, and are sold in grocery stores in cartons just like milk.

The liquid eggs can come as whole eggs, meaning that they are made with the egg white and egg yolk; or they can come sold with just the egg white or the egg yolk. Many restaurants find liquid eggs to be better, as well as bakeries too. Having the eggs already cracked and ready to go is quite convenient.

The process of making the eggs safe to consume, and making sure that they don’t come packaged with egg shells and dangerous foodborne bacteria, is done at plants inspected by the USDA. These plants use large expensive commercial egg breaking machines. The machine does all of the egg cracking and separating.

So, are liquid eggs safe?

Yes. Liquid eggs are as food safe as any other egg product, including whole eggs. The FSIS (USDA’s Food Safety And Inspection Service) ensures that egg products, whether they are whole, frozen, liquid, or powder form, are safe for consumption before they are packaged and leave the plant. They also ensure that the eggs aren’t adulterated.

This means that the liquid eggs sold in grocery stores aren’t tampered with to the point that they are fake eggs, poisonous, or filled with harmful chemicals. Liquid eggs can however include added ingredients into them, like xanthan gum, spice, salt, onion powder and other ingredients. The USDA inspects these egg products too.

Is liquid egg product real eggs?

Yes. As mentioned, plants that manufacture and produce liquid eggs aren’t allowed to send out fake egg products. They are real whole eggs that have been cracked open using commercial egg breaking machines.

The eggs are placed on trays that a worker picks up and places on a conveyor belt. The conveyor belt feeds into an egg washer, which is a machine that picks up each individual egg, inspects the eggs for dirt, inspects the eggs for cracks, and sterilizes the outer shell of the eggs. If the egg is still dirty, it is rewashed; and if the egg is cracked, it is discarded.

After the eggs have been sanitized properly, they are then sent through the conveyor belt to be cracked open. The eggs are cracked open by this machine, and the egg white and the yolk spills out. Below is a cup tray that catches everything and holds the yolk, while the egg white seeps out of the cup tray into another cup tray below the first cup tray to catch it. This is how the whole eggs are separated after they are cracked open in the egg breaking machine.

The egg contents are then sent to big tanks that keep the egg contents cold and mixed (fresh) before they are sent through another machine to be pasteurized. Devices are also used to monitor the liquid eggs to make sure that they remain safe for consumption before being packaged.

After all of this is done, the liquid eggs are finally packaged to be sent off later to other establishments that will use the liquid eggs in their food, or to grocery stores and restaurants. This is all done by hard working regular individuals just like you. Liquid eggs are nothing more than whole eggs that have been cracked open and packaged.

Are liquid eggs good for you?

Liquid eggs are as good for you as regular whole eggs are. However, some liquid eggs that are packaged only contain the egg whites or the egg yokes. Also, additional ingredients may be added to the liquid eggs to provide them with a better taste for individuals desiring to use them immediately after opening the carton.

All of the information is usually labeled on the carton or the package. It will tell you if the liquid eggs are just the whites or the yolk. Usually if the liquid eggs come with the whole egg in it, it will be labeled as just “liquid eggs” or “liquid whole eggs”. Here are the nutritional facts of some liquids eggs from a local supermarket:

As you can see, liquid eggs contain all the same benefits as regular whole eggs. The liquid egg carton here is only the egg whites of the liquid egg when it was processed and packaged, so it contains only the health benefits from the egg whites. At the bottom of the carton it says that the only main ingredients is eggs. 99% of the entire liquid eggs is egg, besides the added additional ingredients.

Liquid white eggs have vitamin A, vitamin B6 and B12, vitamin D, and vitamin E. For the minerals, it contains iron, potassium, zinc, riboflavin, biotin, and thiamin.

What is the point of liquid eggs?

Liquid eggs make it easier for the user to quickly make large batches of food and drinks that contain eggs without having to go through the tedious process of cracking each individual egg. Some establishments go through thousands of eggs a week, which would make cracking each egg time consuming and laborious. Liquid eggs simplify this by already having the eggs readily available with no need to crack the shell, dispose of it, or mix the egg yolk with the egg white after pouring it.

It also makes it possible for individuals to easily obtain the egg yolk only, or the egg white only, after it has been separated in processing. Liquid eggs can make it possible to easily make eggs without one or the other, and receive their sole health benefits without the other part being included. Since the egg whites seep out of the egg yolk after it is cracked using the egg breaking machine, then it is possibly to have an entire carton full of only egg whites that are ready to cook and eat for example.