The FDA says even clean, uncracked eggs can carry salmonella, so its rule is cook until yolk and white are firm, or use pasteurized eggs for anything raw or runny.
Healthy adults usually just get 4 to 7 days of diarrhea, fever, and cramps if they lose the gamble, starting 12 to 72 hours after eating; pregnant women, young children, older adults, and the immunocompromised face worse and should skip runny eggs entirely. Pasteurized eggs or egg products are the sanctioned route to hollandaise, mayo, and tiramisu. Keep eggs refrigerated and cook mixed egg dishes to 160F.
What to do
Common questions
Is it safe to eat runny eggs?
For most healthy adults a runny egg is a small, common gamble; for some people it should be off the menu. The FDA's position: fresh eggs, even those with clean, uncracked shells, may contain Salmonella, so cook eggs until both the yolk and the white are firm, and dishes containing eggs should reach 160°F. The loophole the FDA itself offers is pasteurized eggs: for recipes calling for raw or undercooked eggs, like homemade mayonnaise, hollandaise, or tiramisu, use pasteurized shell eggs or pasteurized egg products, which have been treated to destroy salmonella, and then runny is fine. What salmonella roulette looks like when you lose: per the FDA, symptoms start 12 to 72 hours after infection and run 4 to 7 days of diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps, miserable but self-limited for most healthy adults. The people who should not gamble: pregnant women, young children, older adults, and anyone with a weakened immune system, because their salmonella is more likely to spread beyond the gut. Practical middle ground for the dippy-egg devotee: buy pasteurized eggs, keep eggs refrigerated, and accept that buffet hollandaise is a risk you now understand. If fever and diarrhea hit within three days of a questionable egg, that is the timing to mention to a doctor if symptoms run severe.