Egg safety temperatures: runny yolks, egg dishes, and the 160 °F (71.1 °C) rule
Eggs are the one protein where the official US chart switches from numbers to words for the food itself — "cook until yolk and white are firm" — and back to numbers for anything made with them: egg dishes go to 160 °F (71.1 °C). Canada prints a number where the US prints words: 74 °C (165 °F) for egg dishes. This guide covers both, plus storage times and the honest answer about runny yolks.
Key takeaways
- Shell eggs (US): no chart temperature — official cue is yolk and white both firm.
- Egg dishes — frittatas, quiches, egg casseroles: 160 °F (71.1 °C) (FSIS print; FoodSafety.gov prints 71 °C).
- Health Canada's egg-dish number is higher: 74 °C (165 °F).
- Storage: raw shell eggs keep 3–5 weeks refrigerated; never freeze in the shell; hard-cooked eggs 1 week.
Why eggs get words instead of a number
Salmonella can live inside an egg, not just on the shell, so the safety question for a fried egg is whether every part of the white and yolk has been cooked — which the US chart expresses as the firm-yolk-and-white cue rather than a probe target. (Try inserting a thermometer into a fried egg; the chart's wording is the practical instrument.) The moment eggs are mixed into a dish — quiche, frittata, French toast casserole, custard — the food becomes thick enough to probe and heat-uneven enough to need it, and the chart's number appears: 160 °F (71.1 °C). Egg-based sauces and homemade items like Caesar dressing, hollandaise and homemade ice cream base are the classic at-risk mixtures; US guidance points at-risk people toward pasteurized eggs or fully cooked versions of these.
The two numbers, side by side
| Food | US (FSIS / FoodSafety.gov) | Health Canada |
|---|---|---|
| Raw shell eggs | Cook until yolk and white are firm (no number printed) | No separate number printed for shell eggs |
| Egg dishes (frittata, omelette, quiche) | 160 °F (71.1 °C) · FoodSafety.gov prints 71 °C | 74 °C (165 °F) |
| Casseroles containing eggs | 165 °F (73.9 °C) — all casseroles, meat and meatless | — |
The Canada difference is real, not a rounding artifact: Health Canada's egg-dish target is 74 °C (165 °F), 14 °F above the US 160 °F (71.1 °C). TempChart lists both rather than splitting the difference — same policy as every other page on this site. Any value here is retrievable in two clicks in the doneness lookup tool.
The runny-yolk question, answered honestly
Official US consumer guidance is unambiguous: eggs cooked sunny-side up, over-easy or soft-boiled — with liquid yolk — are not cooked to the chart's firm-yolk standard, and agencies (FDA, CDC and FSIS all echo this) advise children, older adults, pregnant women and immunocompromised people to eat only fully cooked eggs. The FSA's current cooking guidance for the UK frames eggs by overall centre temperature (70 °C for 2 minutes or equivalent). If you are healthy and choose a soft yolk, know it is a personal risk decision the official charts do not bless — the chart's standard is firm throughout.
Storage: the egg rows of the cold-storage chart
From FoodSafety.gov's official table: raw eggs in shell keep 3 to 5 weeks in the refrigerator and should not be frozen in the shell (to freeze, beat yolks and whites together first — then up to 12 months). Hard-cooked eggs keep 1 week refrigerated and do not freeze well. Casseroles with eggs: 3–4 days refrigerated after baking, 2–3 months frozen. Homemade eggnog keeps 2–4 days (commercial 3–5 days); custard and chiffon pies 3–4 days refrigerated and are on the do-not-freeze list. The full table is in our freezer storage chart article.
Eggs inside other rules
Two overlaps worth remembering. A quiche reheated as leftovers follows the leftover rule — 165 °F (73.9 °C) — because reheating targets override the original cook temperature. And an egg wash or stuffing containing egg follows the stuffing rule — 165 °F (73.9 °C) / 74 °C — covered in the poultry guide. The governing principle across this site: apply the strictest applicable official rule for the situation. When in doubt, the master temperature chart has the row you need.
Educational reference, not personalized advice
Salmonella risk from eggs falls hardest on young children, older adults, pregnant women and immunocompromised people. Follow your health authority's egg advice for your household.
Related reading
- The complete safe internal temperature chart
- Fridge and freezer storage times chart
- Reheating temperatures: 165 °F (73.9 °C)
- What temp is chicken done? 165 °F (73.9 °C)
Sources verified: 2026-11-16. FoodSafety.gov — Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures (egg rows) · USDA FSIS — Safe Temperature Chart · Health Canada — Safe cooking temperatures · FoodSafety.gov — Cold Food Storage Chart. Official numbers only — never rounded.