I have fond memories of licking the beaters while mom was making cake and frosting.

But, then I learned about salmonella in raw eggs, and became more cautious around my own kids – but not completely. Admittedly, the risk is low; the risk is much greater when eggs are pooled to make large batches of cakes or sauces.

(In that pic, right, which I lifted from the Internet, I’d be more concerned about the kid’s dirty diaper on the food preparation surface).

Independent.ie reported this morning that three children in Ireland have contracted Salmonella Typhimurium DT8 after licking the spoon used in baking or cooking with duck eggs.

They are among seven people who have been diagnosed with one of the more severe strains of the bug in an outbreak linked to contaminated duck eggs.

Dr Paul McKeown of the Health Protection Surveillance Centre, said yesterday,

"Many children love to lick the cake or food mixture from the spoon during baking and unfortunately in this outbreak it has probably resulted in some falling ill."

Pasteurized eggs are widely available for home cooks now and always an option.