Quick answer
When does a restaurant have to use pasteurized eggs?
Under the FDA Food Code, any restaurant must use pasteurized eggs or egg products in raw or lightly cooked dishes such as Caesar dressing, hollandaise and mayonnaise, unless the dish is cooked to the Code's egg temperatures or served raw on request with a consumer advisory. Hospitals, nursing homes and child care must also use them whenever eggs are pooled.
Pasteurized eggs for restaurants are not a nice extra in every kitchen; in some dishes and some settings, the Food Code requires them. This guide walks through the current FDA Food Code provisions on eggs, what your state may have adopted, and how to choose a pasteurized format that fits your menu. For every egg format side by side, see our guide to egg products for foodservice.
Which Food Code applies to you
The FDA Food Code is a model. FDA released the 2026 edition in September 2026 (FDA Food Code 2026), and each state, county or city adopts a version on its own timeline, sometimes with changes. Your inspector enforces the code your jurisdiction adopted, which may be an earlier edition.
The egg provisions below read the same in the 2026 edition as in recent earlier ones. Minnesota's food code, for example, carries the same pasteurized egg rule for highly susceptible populations in Minnesota Rules 4626.0447. Always check your local health department's adopted code.
The rules for every restaurant
Egg products must be pasteurized (3-202.14)
Liquid, frozen and dried egg products must be obtained pasteurized. In practice, egg products processed under USDA inspection already are; the receiving check is the USDA inspection mark, explained in what USDA inspected egg products means.
Raw egg recipes need pasteurized eggs (3-302.13)
Pasteurized eggs or egg products must replace raw eggs in foods such as Caesar salad, hollandaise or béarnaise sauce, mayonnaise, meringue, eggnog, ice cream and egg-fortified beverages, unless:
- the dish is cooked to the egg temperatures in 3-401.11, or
- it is served raw or undercooked at the customer's request, with a consumer advisory, in a place that does not serve a highly susceptible population.
Cooking temperatures for raw shell eggs (3-401.11)
| How the egg is served | Minimum cooking standard |
|---|---|
| Broken to order for immediate service | 145°F for 15 seconds |
| Broken and held, such as pooled or hot held | 155°F for 17 seconds |
| Same, alternative time and temperature | 145°F for 3 minutes, 150°F for 1 minute, or 158°F instantly |
Eggs broken and held are the risky group, which is why pooled eggs on a breakfast line need the higher temperature. On the farm side, Salmonella controls for shell eggs come from the FDA egg safety rule.
The consumer advisory (3-603.11)
If you serve eggs raw, undercooked or not otherwise processed to eliminate pathogens, such as runny eggs from unpasteurized shells or a raw-egg Caesar, the menu needs a disclosure and a reminder. The disclosure names the item (for example "raw-egg Caesar salad") or asterisks it. The reminder is a footnote such as: consuming raw or undercooked meats, poultry, seafood, shellfish or eggs may increase your risk of foodborne illness.
Switching those dishes to pasteurized eggs is the other way to comply, because the egg has then been processed to eliminate pathogens.
Highly susceptible populations (3-801.11)
The strictest rules apply where the Food Code's highly susceptible population (HSP) is served: people who are immunocompromised, preschool age children or older adults, obtaining food in a facility such as a hospital, nursing home, assisted living, child or adult day care, kidney dialysis center or senior center.
In those facilities:
- Pasteurized eggs or egg products must replace raw eggs in the dishes listed above.
- They must also be used in any recipe where more than one egg is broken and the eggs are combined.
- Soft-cooked eggs made from raw eggs, and meringue, may not be served in ready-to-eat form.
- Time alone may not be used as the public health control for raw eggs.
The pooling rule has three exceptions: eggs combined immediately before cooking for one person's serving, cooked to 145°F and served at once (an omelet or a single order of scrambled eggs); eggs combined just before baking into a fully cooked item such as a muffin; and preparation under an approved HACCP plan. A batch of scrambled eggs for a dining room is none of these, so it needs pasteurized eggs. For egg choices on high-risk patient trays, see our guide to neutropenic diet eggs.
What the research shows
The rules exist because pooling unpasteurized eggs is common. In a study of restaurant egg practices, CDC's Environmental Health Specialists Network found that four in five restaurants used unpasteurized eggs and about half pooled eggs, and it recommends using pasteurized eggs and avoiding pooling (CDC on restaurant egg preparation). The same work found unpasteurized eggs more common in independently owned restaurants. If you run an independent kitchen, review which dishes use raw or pooled eggs and write the policy down.
Guests sometimes ask about bird flu too. Our post on avian influenza egg safety covers what FDA, USDA and CDC say about cooking and pasteurized egg products.
Choosing pasteurized eggs for restaurants: formats compared
| Format | Best for | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Pasteurized shell eggs | Hollandaise, Caesar, sunny side up eggs in care settings | Higher price per egg; same cracking labor |
| Liquid or frozen egg products | Pooled scrambles, batters, sauces, French toast | Yield and portion conversion |
| Precooked eggs from pasteurized eggs | Scrambles, omelets and sandwiches with no raw egg handling | Reheating and holding quality |
Liquid egg needs a conversion from your shell egg recipes; use our shell egg to liquid egg conversion chart. Precooked eggs take raw egg handling off the line entirely. Echo Lake's quality page states that all its precooked egg products are made from a blend of USDA inspected, pasteurized eggs. To choose between frozen and refrigerated, see frozen vs refrigerated precooked eggs.
Cost and sourcing
Pasteurized formats usually cost more per egg than unpasteurized shell eggs. Compare them on egg cost per serving, with labor and waste included, before deciding the switch is too expensive. When prices spike, our guide to egg prices for restaurants covers contract and menu options. If your contract also requires a housing claim, see cage-free egg products.
FAQ
Do restaurants have to use pasteurized eggs?
Not for every dish. Under the Food Code, any restaurant must use pasteurized eggs in raw or lightly cooked recipes such as Caesar dressing and hollandaise, unless those are cooked to the Code's egg temperatures or served on request with a consumer advisory. Care facilities have stricter rules.
Is a nursing home or hospital required to use pasteurized eggs?
Yes, in raw egg dishes and in any recipe where more than one egg is broken and combined, under Food Code 3-801.11. A single serving cooked to order and served at once, and fully baked items, are the main exceptions.
Can a restaurant serve runny eggs?
Yes, in a place that does not serve a highly susceptible population, if the menu carries the consumer advisory. Pasteurized shell eggs lower the risk for those orders, and because the egg has been processed to eliminate pathogens, the advisory is no longer needed for it.
Do pasteurized eggs need to be refrigerated?
Pasteurized egg products and pasteurized shell eggs should be stored as their label directs, usually refrigerated or frozen. Pasteurization reduces pathogens; it does not make liquid egg shelf-stable.
Are precooked eggs made from pasteurized eggs?
Many are; check the supplier's specification. Echo Lake's precooked egg products are made from a blend of USDA inspected, pasteurized eggs, according to its quality page.
Next step
If pooled scrambles or raw-egg sauces are on your menu, compare formats in precooked eggs vs shell eggs, look at Echo Lake precooked scrambled eggs, and ask Echo Lake Foods for specifications.
