Sunny Side Down: Runny Yolks Banned Under New Jersey Law

NEWARK, N.J. - Ordering eggs over easy will be hard in New Jersey now that runny yolks are against the law.

Fears of salmonella poisoning led the state to adopt a regulation requiring any egg served in a restaurant, hotel or coffee shop to be cooked until it's firm. The law took effect Jan. 1.

"It should mean the end to over-easy eggs," state Health Department spokeswoman Darlene Weiner said.

Restaurateurs and some of their patrons said they're upset at the prospect of being denied Caesar salads - tossed with raw eggs - and the yolk-based hollandaise sauce critical to eggs Benedict.

"Imagine it," said Guy Gregg, president of the New Jersey Restaurant Association. "A guy orders them over easy and the cook tells him it's against the law."

"This is not a food-preparation problem, but a food-supply problem," agreed Stockton restaurateur Andy McDermott.

Kay Engelhardt, a test cook at the American Egg Board, said the only way to kill salmonella in eggs is to cook them at 140 degrees for several minutes. That produces a hard yolk.

The salmonella bacteria, which turns up in less than one half of 1 percent of all eggs, can be lethal to children and the elderly.

Those who break the New Jersey law - which the National Restaurant Association believes to be the first of its kind in the nation - risk fines of $25 to $100.

On the sunny side for restaurant owners, Gregg said health inspectors probably won't have time to enforce the law.

"If the government can't even get crack dealers off the streets, how are they going to get cracked eggs off the plate?" he asked.

"I think it's a silly law," said Al Lavacca, a customer at the Short Stop Diner in Bloomfield. The 52-year-old Bloomfield resident said he's been eating runny eggs for 30 years, and added, "You can't tell people how to eat."