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In the park the other day I overheard a group of mums talking about the fact that when they were baking, they don’t let their toddler or child lick the beater or bowl because the mixture had raw egg in it.

It made me feel a bit sad!

Surely this is one of the simple pleasures of childhood and my adulthood if I’m completely honest.

So what are the risks of eating raw cookie dough or cake mixture, and should you be worried? I decided I had to find out for myself and the rights of children everywhere.

The short answer is NO. If you’re using fresh eggs that have been stored in the fridge there is very low risk of food poisoning. But even beyond that, the mere act of beating an egg creates a similar force to cooking an egg.



It’s all very scientific but in laymen’s terms the act of beating an egg means you incorporate air bubbles into the water-protein solution (the egg). Adding air bubbles to egg whites unfolds those egg proteins just as certainly as heating them.

So if you’d feed your child a warm egg like a soft boiled egg a beaten egg should be okay too.

If you’re still worried, consider using pasteurised eggs. They are difficult to find and more expensive, but if you want 100% peace of mind, they might be the way to go.

If you’re still a bit iffy or the eggs are approaching their use by date, then perhaps try baking something that doesn’t have egg in it so your child can still enjoy one of life’s most simple pleasures. Now excuse me, I have a chocolate cake to make.

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  • Very few foods in life are worth food poisoning to me, so I just don’t risk it.

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  • The kids like the end product but not keen on beaters.

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  • Thanks for posting – so glad I haven’t done the wrong thing.

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  • Salmonella is a risk because egg shells are porous and germs such as it can penetrate theough the shell into the contents.
    Some children are allergic to eggs. It can trigger hayfever(I definitely know of one case) or asthma in some. Some will actual vomit after eating custard with eggs in it. A friend of mine has a little boy who is allergic to the egg yolk.
    We used tofight over who turn it was to lick the spoon from homemade custard and attempt to salvage the remnants from the bottom of the saucepan. Also the beaters from homemade icecream (that didn’t have eggs in it)

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  • Oh gross, who would want to feed their kids raw eggs anyway? My kids don’t even like raw cookie dough or cake mix

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  • This was an interesting mini article. Thanks for posting!

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  • I read in a medical guide that because egg shells are porous, eating raw eggs can cause salmonella poisoning and other problems. If your child has asthma or hayfever there is a higher chance of allergic reaction.

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  • Nothing is going to stop me licking the beaters!

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  • My kids LOVE licking the spoon but I get there’s potential for harm with raw eggs. Potentially because of the hormones injected into chickens these days….

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  • Its good to read this, so many things to be uncertain about. Particularly raw egg.

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  • I still do it……and my sister used to eat raw eggs, straight from the fridge. We never got sick. If my daughter want to lick the beater I think I will be fine with that.

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  • I’m one of those mums that doesn’t let my child ick the beaters. Even though I did it as a kid and survived.
    Thank you so much for this information, I’m going to bake a cake tomorrow and let my daughter lick the beaters. Thank you

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  • As a child and older and with my children we always licked the beaters when cooking cakes and biscuits or making home made ice cream and we never had any illness from it – my husband still likes to lick the beaters if he gets the chance.

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  • One of my greatest childhood memories is mum calling me into the kitchen when she was baking and then letting me lick the beaters….yum!!! As an adult I still lick the beaters and as a 34 year old have never been sick from licking the beaters.

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  • Each to their own….mine never have then raw.

    Reply

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