Do organic eggs have a lower risk of Salmonella?

Good question. I always sort of feel like they should have a lower risk of salmonella but have absolutely no basis for this whatsoever.

However, I think the actual incidence of salmonella (even in non-organic eggs) is really pretty low. I’m going to confess to being a raw-egg-in-smoothies girl (they make the smoothies so creamy and delicious!) and I always always eat my eggs sunny-side-up with uber runny yolks. And don’t get me started on cookie dough… I probably eat at least 3–4 dozen raw eggs a year (mostly organic). Never had salmonella, that I know of.

I’m sure some people are freaked out by my “confessions of a raw egg eater.” If it makes you feel any better, the French are big fans of something called “Steak Tartare” which is basically raw hamburger mixed with raw egg and spices!

According to Dr. Mercola, there is a lower risk. He states that generally there is a very low risk of Salmonella (1/30,000), and it is virtually nil with healthy organic eggs. If the hens are not piped up on hormones, they shouldn’t lay an egg when they’re sick, so I think your intuition is right.
His sources (annoying email reg. subscription required. I used Mailinator):
http://www.mercola.com/2002/nov/13/eggs.htm
http://www.mercola.com/2003/feb/5/eggs_salmonella.htm

@ben: Who is this Dr. Mercola? And why is he an D.O. rather than an M.D.?

@andrew: He is a highly-regarded alternative health doctor with a large following. See his Wikipedia entry.

D.O. is a doctor of osteopathic medicine. They are fully qualified, licensed doctors who practice medicine in the US (about 20 of the many medical schools in the US are osteopathic). The difference lies in the holistic approach that osteopathic medicine seeks to embody. M.D. is the abbreviation for an allopathic medical doctor, which is the licensed title for most doctors.