Question: The May 14 Star-Advertiser food section featured chef Alan Wong, who mentioned a dish called “tamago kake gohan” (raw egg over hot rice). This is my favorite breakfast meal (we called it “tamago-meshi” growing up), which I’ve sadly put aside because of strong warnings about salmonella bacteria in raw eggs. I’ve wondered why restaurants can serve sunny-side up eggs without fear of inflicting food poisoning on customers. Is there a way for me to once again enjoy my tamago-meshi?
Answer: There is an alternative to regular eggs: pasteurized shell eggs “that are pathogen-free and not discernible from fresh raw shell eggs,” said Peter Oshiro, manager of the environmental health program for the state Department of Health.
“The safety they provide is worth the slight increase in cost, and the food establishment can use regular eggs for their thoroughly cooked egg dishes,” he said.
The federal Food and Drug Administration has to approve the process for destroying salmonella before a processor can sell pasteurized shell eggs.
In Hawaii, Davidson’s Safest Choice, based in Illinois, sells pasteurized shell eggs via Foodland and Times Supermarkets, according to spokeswoman Chantal Arsenault. Not all outlets may have them, so she suggested checking with each store directly. The eggs also are sold to food service companies.
The state’s food preparation mandate, found in Section 11-12-25(g) of the Health Department’s Hawaii Administrative Rules, “states that potentially hazardous foods, such as eggs, poultry, meat and foods containing these raw animal foods shall be cooked to heat all parts of the food to certain specified temperatures,” Oshiro said.
That temperature would be 145 degrees Fahrenheit or about 15 seconds for “shell eggs that are broken and prepared in response to a consumer’s order and for immediate service” (is.gd/V1jHSC).
However, there is leeway for restaurants to serve these foods raw, rare or not cooked as specified under that section, in “ready-to-eat form upon request or with the knowledge of the consumer.”
“We interpret this to mean that the consumer must order it rare or raw, or it must be common knowledge or obvious that the product is served raw or rare,” Oshiro said.
As examples, he cited sashimi, sunny-side up or runny eggs, steak tartare or tamago kake gohan.
“We would strongly advise food establishments to remind their customers that a certain dish is undercooked or raw,” Oshiro said.
Currently, there is no requirement that they do so.
However, the Health Department is planning to adopt new rules this year to require restaurants that serve potentially hazardous raw or rare food to advise customers that “eating raw or undercooked foods may place you at a greater risk of contracting foodborne illnesses,” or something to that effect, Oshiro said.
“This is similar to what is already required in most jurisdictions in the nation,” he said.
We previously addressed a similar question regarding hamburgers served “medium rare” (is.gd/ ni7j64). It’s suggested that the meat be cooked to specified minimum temperatures, but can be cooked and served otherwise at the request of a customer.
Question: Does the new “Move Over” law, which requires one to give one-lane clearance or slow down to prudent speeds when law enforcement/emergency vehicles are stopped on the road shoulder, apply to tow trucks, Freeway Safety Patrol and stranded vehicles?
Answer: Section 291C-27 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes, which took effect in July, defines emergency vehicles as “a police or fire department vehicle, ocean safety vehicle, emergency medical services vehicle, freeway service patrol vehicle, or a tow truck.”
You’re not required to move over or slow down for a stranded vehicle, according to the Honolulu Police Department, although common sense dictates you should.
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Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
