One of the hallmarks of Easter Sunday is the classic egg hunt, but searching for the eggs is only half the fun. Every year, families dye Easter eggs in vibrant colors with creative designs. (and if you haven’t tried making tie-dye eggs with Cool Whip , you’re seriously missing out). It’s an annual tradition beloved by kids and adults alike.
But what happens to them after the hunt is over? With the cost of groceries these days, it doesn’t seem right to let those eggs go to waste. At the same time, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has recently taken a hard stance against popular food dyes , including the ones commonly used to dye Easter eggs.
So, is it safe to eat Easter eggs that have been dyed, or should they be left alone? To get to the bottom of it, I asked Dr. Darin Detwiler , food safety expert and professor at Northeastern University, to weigh in on the food dye debate. Here’s what you should know ahead of the holiday.
Are Dyed Easter Eggs Safe To Eat?
According to Detwiler, the food coloring used to tint eggs poses no health or safety risks. But that doesn’t automatically mean a dyed Easter egg is fair game. “The dye itself isn’t the issue,” he says. “It’s time, temperature, and handling.”
In most cases, Easter eggs spend a considerable amount of time in what’s considered the “temperature danger zone,” which falls between 40 degrees and 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Conditions in that range create the ideal environment for pathogenic bacteria to thrive. If your eggs sit out on the counter, or worse, outside in your backyard, for extended periods, they’re more likely to cause illness, even if they appear perfectly normal.
And the potential health risks are no joke. Detwiler says foodborne illness is a common consequence of eating improperly handled hard-boiled eggs, often caused by bacteria such as Salmonella. “Symptoms can include nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps, diarrhea, and fever,” he says. The health impact can be even more severe for young children exposed to pathogenic bacteria.
How Can You Avoid Getting Sick From Easter Eggs?
Detwiler explains that if “eggs are hidden outdoors, sitting in the sun, or picked up and put down repeatedly during a hunt, they should be treated the same way we treat a carved pumpkin at Halloween. They’re part of the experience, not something to eat.”
As a rule of thumb, hard-boiled eggs shouldn’t be eaten if they’ve been sitting at room temperature for more than two hours. That window shrinks to about one hour in a warmer climate. But even if you beat the world record for the fastest Easter egg hunt, there are still other food safety factors that might make you reconsider eating them afterward.
Exposing your egg to the elements can also introduce germs from the outdoors if the shell accidentally cracks. The best way to avoid getting sick is to keep your eggs refrigerated and leave them out of the hunt altogether. Then, without any health risks, your snacking possibilities are endless. May we suggest some festive deviled eggs ?
“From a food safety standpoint, plastic eggs are the better choice for an Easter egg hunt because they remove the risk entirely,” Detwiler says. “You are separating the activity of the hunt from the food people will eventually eat, which is always a safer approach.”
Save the real eggs for the fridge and let the plastic ones do the heavy lifting on Easter Sunday.
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