Skip to main content
Minnesota Department of Health logo
  • Main navigation

    • Home
    • Data, Statistics, and Legislation
    • Diseases and Conditions
    • Health Care Facilities, Providers, and Insurance
    • Healthy Communities, Environment, and Workplaces
    • Individual and Family Health
    • About Us
    • News and Announcements
    • Translated Materials

Main navigation mobile

  • Data, Statistics, and Legislation
  • Diseases and Conditions
  • Health Care Facilities, Providers, and Insurance
  • Healthy Communities, Environment, and Workplaces
  • Individual and Family Health
  • About Us
  • News and Announcements
  • Translated Materials
MDH Logo

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Individual and Family Health
  3. Food Safety
  4. Handling and Preparing Specific Foods
Topic Menu

Handling and Preparing Specific Foods

  • Specific Foods Home
  • Frozen Chicken
  • Eggs
  • Home Made Ice Cream
  • Wild Game
  • Turkey
  • Hamburger
  • Fish and Seafood
  • Fruits and vegetables
  • Raw Milk
  • Irradiation and Pasteurization

Food Safety

  • Food Safety Home
  • Clean & Separate
  • Cook & Chill
  • Storing & Preserving
  • Cooking Away From Home
  • Handling and Preparing Specific Foods
  • Food Safety in Emergencies
  • Alerts and Recalls
  • Print Materials

More Food Safety

  • Foodborne Illness
  • Food Business Safety
  • Food Safety for Schools

Handling and Preparing Specific Foods

  • Specific Foods Home
  • Frozen Chicken
  • Eggs
  • Home Made Ice Cream
  • Wild Game
  • Turkey
  • Hamburger
  • Fish and Seafood
  • Fruits and vegetables
  • Raw Milk
  • Irradiation and Pasteurization

Food Safety

  • Food Safety Home
  • Clean & Separate
  • Cook & Chill
  • Storing & Preserving
  • Cooking Away From Home
  • Handling and Preparing Specific Foods
  • Food Safety in Emergencies
  • Alerts and Recalls
  • Print Materials

More Food Safety

  • Foodborne Illness
  • Food Business Safety
  • Food Safety for Schools
Contact Info
Minnesota Department of Health
651-201-5000
Food Safety Comment Form

Contact Info

Minnesota Department of Health
651-201-5000
Food Safety Comment Form

Home Made Ice Cream

Food safety tips for making and eating home made ice cream. Home Made Ice Cream

Homemade ice cream is a special summertime treat. However, for hundreds of consumers each year it can also become a threat as they suffer the effects of salmonellosis.

While commercially manufactured ice cream is typically made with pasteurized eggs or egg products, recipes for homemade ice cream often use raw eggs in the base mixture. Even when using pasteurized products, the FDA and the USDA advise consumers to start with a cooked base for optimal safety, especially if serving people at high risk for foodborne illness. Additionally, use only pasteurized milk and cream when making homemade ice cream.

Here are some suggestions for safe alternatives to using raw eggs in your homemade ice cream:

  • Find a recipe that is eggless. It’s easy and tastes just as good!
  • Use pasteurized shell eggs or pasteurized egg substitutes in recipes calling for raw eggs.
  • Use a recipe that contains a cooked custard base. The custard base must reach 160º F measured with a food thermometer, in order to kill the Salmonella Enteritidis. Resist the temptation to taste-test the mixture during preparation when the custard isn't fully cooked. After cooking, chill the custard thoroughly before freezing.
    From Colorado State University Extension Services.

More about home made ice cream:

  • Enjoying Homemade Ice Cream without the Risk of Salmonella Infection: FDA
    Every year homemade ice cream causes several outbreaks of Salmonella infection with up to several hundred victims at church picnics, family reunions, and other large gatherings. From 1996 to 2000 (the latest year for which surveillance was completed), 17 outbreaks resulting in more than 500 illnesses in the United States were traced to Salmonella bacteria in homemade ice cream, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The ingredient responsible for the outbreaks is raw or undercooked eggs.

Tags
  • food safety
Last Updated: 10/20/2022

Get email updates


Minnesota Department of Health logo

Privacy Policy
Equal Opportunity
Translated Materials
Feedback Form
About MDH
Minnesota.gov
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linked In
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
Minnesota Department of Health Minnesota Department of health print search share facebook instagram linkedin twitter youtube