The Short Answer
The safest way to use egg yolks in ice cream is to cook the base: heat the mix with the yolks in it to at least 71 °C (160 °F). If your recipe is not cooked, use pasteurized eggs or yolks, or leave the eggs out.
Whether raw eggs are acceptable beyond that depends on where your eggs come from and who will eat the ice cream. Official advice differs between countries, as described below.
Important: This article is general information, not medical or legal advice. Follow the advice of your national food safety authority, and if you sell ice cream, the food safety rules that apply to your business.
The Risk
Raw eggs can carry Salmonella, bacteria that cause food poisoning. The risk from a single egg is low, and in some countries very low, but ice cream mixes often use several yolks, are made in batches, and are served to many people.
For most healthy adults, salmonella poisoning is unpleasant but passes. Some people are at much greater risk of severe illness:
- babies and young children
- pregnant people
- older adults
- people with a weakened immune system, for example during cancer treatment or after a transplant
Never serve ice cream made with raw, unpasteurized eggs to people with a severely weakened immune system.
The Safest Options
1. Cook the Base
Heating destroys salmonella. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advises cooking dishes that contain eggs to 71 °C (160 °F), checked with a food thermometer. A classic custard base is usually heated to 80–85 °C (176–185 °F) to thicken it and hydrate the stabilizers, which is well above that. The steps are in How Ice Cream Is Made.
Stir constantly and heat the whole mix evenly; a thermometer is the only reliable way to know the temperature has been reached.
2. Use Pasteurized Eggs
For no-cook recipes, use pasteurized shell eggs or pasteurized liquid egg yolk. They have been heat-treated to destroy salmonella without cooking the egg, and they work in ice cream like ordinary yolks. This is what the FDA recommends for recipes such as homemade ice cream where the eggs are not cooked.
3. Leave the Eggs Out
Many excellent ice creams contain no egg at all. Replace the yolks' emulsifying job with lecithin or another emulsifier, and their body with a stabilizer. See Eggs in Ice Cream and Stabilizers & Emulsifiers.
Handling Eggs and the Mix
- Use clean, uncracked eggs that have been kept cold, and respect the best-before date.
- Keep hands, bowls and tools clean, especially when separating many yolks.
- Cool the cooked base quickly, for example in a bag in ice water, and keep it in the fridge while it ages.
- Don't leave the mix or the finished ice cream standing at room temperature.
- Never refreeze ice cream that has melted.
Advice Differs by Country
How risky raw eggs are depends on how hens are kept, vaccinated and tested where you live, so official advice varies. A few examples:
| Country | Official advice (summary) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| United States | Don't eat raw or undercooked eggs. For recipes where the eggs stay raw, such as homemade ice cream, use pasteurized eggs or pasteurized egg products. Cook egg dishes to 160 °F (71 °C). | FDA: What You Need to Know About Egg Safety |
| United Kingdom | Hen eggs with the British Lion mark (or from the Laid in Britain scheme) can be eaten raw or lightly cooked, also by babies, children, pregnant people and older adults. Other eggs should be cooked thoroughly for these groups. The advice does not cover people who are severely immunocompromised. | Food Standards Agency, NHS |
| Sweden | Eggs from Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark may be eaten raw. Eggs from other countries should not be eaten raw, and that includes homemade ice cream. A 2026 report from Livsmedelsverket notes more egg-related outbreaks in recent years and that the advice may be reviewed. | Livsmedelsverket: Salmonella |
In other countries, check the website of your national food safety authority. If you can't find clear advice, cook the base or use pasteurized eggs.
If You Sell Ice Cream
Commercial ice cream mixes are pasteurized, and most countries set legal requirements for how that is done and documented. If you make ice cream for sale, the rules of your food safety authority apply, whatever the home advice in your country says. Check those rules before you serve ice cream made with raw eggs to customers: your guests may include vulnerable people you can't identify.