Eating raw eggs carries a real but relatively small risk of Salmonella infection. About 1 in every 20,000 eggs produced in the United States is estimated to be contaminated, which means the odds of getting sick from any single egg are low. But because people eat a lot of eggs, those odds add up over time, and the consequences of infection can be serious for certain groups.
The Salmonella Risk
Salmonella bacteria can live inside an egg even when the shell is clean and uncracked. The bacteria colonize the hen’s reproductive tract, so contamination happens before the shell even forms. You can’t see, smell, or taste the difference between a contaminated egg and a safe one.
If you do get infected, symptoms typically start 6 hours to 6 days after eating the contaminated egg. Most people experience diarrhea, fever, abdominal cramps, and vomiting that lasts 4 to 7 days. The majority recover without treatment. In more severe cases, the infection can spread from the intestines into the bloodstream, requiring hospitalization and antibiotics. A 2025 Salmonella outbreak linked to eggs sickened 105 people across 14 states, with roughly 1 in 4 of those who provided information needing hospital care.
Who Faces the Greatest Danger
For a healthy adult, a Salmonella infection is miserable but rarely life-threatening. The picture changes for children, older adults, pregnant women, and anyone with a weakened immune system, including people with diabetes, HIV/AIDS, cancer, or organ transplants. In these groups, the infection is more likely to become severe, spread beyond the gut, and in rare cases prove fatal. The FDA specifically warns these populations to avoid raw or undercooked eggs entirely.
You Absorb Less Protein From Raw Eggs
One of the main reasons people eat raw eggs is for a quick protein hit, but cooking actually makes egg protein easier to digest. Raw eggs have a protein digestibility of about 70%, compared to roughly 76% for hard-boiled and 82% for soft-boiled eggs. That means cooking a couple of eggs gives your body access to meaningfully more protein than drinking them raw. Heat unfolds the tightly packed protein molecules, letting your digestive enzymes break them down more efficiently.
The Biotin Problem
Raw egg whites contain a protein called avidin that binds tightly to biotin (vitamin B7) in the gut, preventing your body from absorbing it. Avidin can latch onto up to four biotin molecules at once, and the resulting complex resists digestion. Cooking deactivates avidin, which is why this is only a concern with raw eggs.
That said, the biotin-binding capacity of the white is roughly equal to the biotin content of the yolk. So eating whole raw eggs occasionally is unlikely to cause a deficiency on its own. The risk increases if you’re eating large quantities of raw egg whites regularly, separated from the yolks.
How to Reduce the Risk
The simplest solution is to cook your eggs until both the white and yolk are firm, which kills Salmonella. For egg dishes like frittatas or quiches, the CDC recommends an internal temperature of 160°F (or 165°F if the dish contains meat or poultry).
If you genuinely want to consume raw eggs in smoothies, homemade mayonnaise, or desserts like mousse, pasteurized eggs are the safest option. These eggs have been heat-treated at temperatures high enough to kill 99.999% of Salmonella without cooking the egg itself. In the U.S., pasteurized shell eggs are available in most grocery stores, usually marked clearly on the carton. Pasteurized liquid egg products work the same way.
Not every country handles raw egg safety the same way. In the UK, eggs produced under the Lion Code assurance scheme come from vaccinated hens and are monitored so rigorously that food safety authorities consider them safe to eat raw or lightly cooked, even for pregnant women, young children, and elderly people. The goal of the UK’s national control program is to keep Salmonella-positive laying flocks below 2% each year. The U.S. does not have an equivalent hen vaccination program, which is why American health agencies take a more cautious stance.
What the Official Guidance Says
The CDC lists raw and undercooked eggs as a “riskier choice” and specifically calls out Caesar salad dressing, raw cookie dough, and homemade eggnog as common ways people unknowingly eat raw eggs. The FDA recommends using pasteurized eggs in any recipe where the egg won’t be fully cooked. Neither agency says a healthy adult will definitely get sick from eating a raw egg, but both classify it as an avoidable risk.
For most people, the bottom line is straightforward: cooking your eggs is safer and gives you more usable protein. If you prefer them raw, pasteurized eggs bring the risk close to zero. And if you’re pregnant, very young, elderly, or immunocompromised, raw unpasteurized eggs are worth avoiding entirely.