Egg Safety Concerns

• All shell eggs and many egg products pose potential health risks. Salmonella bacteria may be present on eggshells, which can enter eggs through the shells’ pores. Cooking the eggs at a sufficient temperature eliminates any bacteria that are present, and storing them appropriately prevents the bacteria from multiplying before you cook the eggs. Frozen or refrigerated egg products may also be susceptible to contamination, depending on how much real egg they contain.

Eggs in Lasagna

• In lasagna, eggs bind the soft cheese layer, which typically contains ricotta or cottage cheese. Eggs are an optional ingredient and add little flavor to the cooked lasagna. While it is safe to preassemble a lasagna that includes eggs, if you are have lingering concerns about food safety, you can omit the eggs or substitute another ingredient for them. Cooled béchamel sauce -- a cooked mixture of flour, butter and milk -- blends well with soft crumbly cheeses, and the gluten in the flour binds the mixture like eggs.

Refrigerating Uncooked Lasagna

• It is safe to store shell eggs in the refrigerator for four days after you have cracked them and incorporated them into other foods. Therefore, you can store an assembled, uncooked lasagna in the refrigerator for up to four days. Refrigerate lasagna that contains liquid egg products for no more than three days. Do not use reconstituted egg products in a lasagna that you aren’t cooking right away.

Freezing Uncooked Lasagna

• You can freeze and thaw lasagna safely, but the textural quality of the dish may decline slightly. It is safe to freeze an uncooked lasagna for two to three months. If it contains shell eggs, the freezer must maintain a temperature of 0 degrees Fahrenheit or lower. The cold temperature does not kill bacteria, but it prevents them from multiplying. You should not freeze a lasagna that includes egg product, even if it was frozen egg product. Freezing disrupts the delicate composition of egg products, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. While it would not pose a food safety risk to freeze a lasagna that contains egg product, it may ruin the texture or flavor of the dish.

Thawing and Cooking Lasagna

• Thaw a frozen lasagna in the refrigerator to ensure food safety and preserve the textures of the ingredients. Do not leave an uncooked lasagna at room temperature for more than two hours. Cook a thawed or unfrozen lasagna at 325 F until it’s cooked through and has an internal temperature of at least 160 F, which is the temperature eggs must reach to be safe to eat. You can cook a frozen lasagna without thawing it, but you must cook it one and one-half times as long as you would cook an freshly made lasagna.