The Tamil Nadu government has ordered a one-year ban on mayonnaise made with raw eggs, effective immediately. Mayonnaise made of raw eggs carries a high risk of food poisoning especially from Salmonella typhimurium, Salmonella enteritidis, Escherichia coli and Listeria Monocytogenes, a notice from the state’s Food Safety and Drug Administration Department warns.
The department has now banned the processing, packaging, storage, transportation, distribution and sale of mayonnaise prepared from raw egg. The notice further says that a number of food business operators who use raw eggs for the preparation of mayonnaise improperly prepare and store the product in facilities where contamination by micro organisms can occur.
Earlier, in 2023 and 2024, both Kerala and Telangana had made a similar move, following several cases of food poisoning due to use of improperly stored or expired mayonnaise made from raw eggs. The ban had come into effect after the tragic death of a 16-year-old due to food poisoning in Kerala’s Kasargod in 2022. Further, at least 58 people who had eaten at the same restaurant, had fallen ill at the time after being infected by Salmonella bacteria.
Following the Kasargod incident, raids had also been conducted in restaurants across Tamil Nadu.