This is the chicken salad sandwich Amy will have for lunch later today.

I’ve done what I can to make sure she doesn’t barf (at least from this sandwich). And that means using commercial mayonnaise.

In a manner food pornographers usually reserve for wine and raw milk cheese, the New York Times devotes 1,661 words to mayonnaise today, and not once mentions the risk of using raw eggs.

Maybe in response, the Association for Dressings & Sauces – those folks know how to party – stated today that more than 60 years of research has proven that commercially prepared mayonnaise does not cause foodborne illness.

Commercial mayonnaise and mayonnaise-type dressings contain pasteurized eggs while additional ingredients such as vinegar and lemon juice create a high-acid environment that slows bacterial growth.

For me and my family, it’s not worth the risk. Despite the proclamations of foodies, raw egg mayo is not the key ingredient in a chicken salad sandwich; it’s the lime, which are plentiful and awesome in Australia.

For the sandwich, right, I used leftover chicken breast from the roasted whole bird that was part of dinner last night (covered in lime, rosemary, basil, sage and garlic, the remnants which are now rendering in the stock pot). I added small amounts of pink onion, celery, red pepper, dill pickle, Dijon mustard, and commercial mayonnaise, mixed and slathered between two slices of homemade bread from yesterday (30% rye, 50% whole wheat, 20% white flours) and topped with Mesclun mix and tomato slices.

My 4 a.m. risk ranking would be the cleanliness of my hands, the lettuce and tomato. Australia has a problem with Salmonella outbreaks linked to raw egg dishes so I use commercial mayo. The chicken was temperature verified to greater than 165F last night and leftovers refrigerated within an hour.

Sorenne doesn’t go in much for sandwiches, but she will have some chunks of chicken meat included in her lunch. Tonight will probably be bulgur and chicken and other stuff.