Parents will soon be dyeing and hiding eggs for excited youngsters, but health officials are handing out a few warnings.

Eggs are prone to bacteria like salmonella, though the risk of getting a food-borne illness from them is low.

Health officials do say though, cases of salmonella usually spike after the holiday.

Here are some things they want us to keep in mind.

Wash your hands often when handling the eggs, and use only decorating kits or materials designed for eggs.

Eggs should not sit out at room temperature for more than two hours.
During refrigeration, keep eggs separate from raw meats that might drip juices.

When boiling the eggs, keep water bubbling constantly. If the yolk is even a little raw, throw it away.

Once the eggs are hard-boiled, they can be stored up to a week inside the refrigerator, but not in the door.

When hiding the Easter eggs, avoid areas that may come in contact with lawn chemicals, pets or wild animals.

Do not eat cracked eggs or eggs that have been unrefrigerated for more than two hours.

So what about our pets?

Well there are some items that will be in most of our Easter baskets that we are going to want to keep away from them.

Easter flowers and plants may make for great decoration, but flowers like lilies can be toxic for most animals.

The Easter bunny loves to leave chocolate behind, but if your pet gets a hold of it (especially your dog) the results could be deadly because ingredients in chocolate are toxic to some animals.

Another Easter mainstay is cellophane Easter grass. Cats like to play with it and it is easily ingested which can cause serious problems for their digestive track. It can also be deadly. Plastic eggs can cause the same problems.

Finally, hard boiled eggs can cause problems for your pets too if they are hidden and not found until a much later date. If the egg spoils and your pet eats it your pet could be facing some serious health problems.