Put down the spoon or spatula from the mixing bowl and walk away slowly.
Every cookie dough lover knows eating the stuff raw is risky because uncooked eggs could result in salmonella exposure. But the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is adding extra weight to that risk after reporting an outbreak of sicknesses linked to flour used in various dough. That raw flour may contain a bacteria called Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O121, the agency said in an advisory issued Tuesday.
The FDA pointed out in its warning that some flour brands have recalled their products, but that consumers may not realize raw dough used in children’s crafts— like clay kids commonly play with while waiting for their food at restaurants— still poses a health risk. The FDA has advised restaurants and schools against allowing children to play with raw dough, and for fans of cookie dough ice cream to buy the treat from a manufacturer rather than make it from scratch.
In fact, the administration said in a new consumer update posted Tuesday, it's not safe to eat raw flour in any form. Not homemade "play dough," not licking the spoon of brownie batter. Nothing.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 38 people were infected in 20 states with illnesses starting in December.
According to the FDA, their investigation found that the raw dough that sickened patients had been made with General Mills flour made in a Kansas City, Mo., plant. Tests conducted by the FDA tied bacteria in a sample of flour to bacteria from people who had been sickened.
MUST READ: 2016 Recall Of Over 10 Million Pounds Of Flour
General Mills recalled flour products made between Nov. 14, 2015, and Dec. 4, 2015, under three brand names: Gold Medal, Signature Kitchens and Gold Medal Wondra. They included varieties of all-purpose, self-rising and unbleached flours.
Symptoms of this strain of E. coli include bloody diarrhea and abdominal cramps. While most people will bounce back within a week, it can even lead to kidney failure, especially among the elderly and children under 5.
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Flour is not an ingredient most associate with a contamination risk, but with the recent outbreaks, the FDA had to take notice.
"Flour is derived from a grain that comes directly from the field and typically is not treated to kill bacteria," said......Leslie Smoot, a senior adviser in the FDA's Office of Food Safety, in a statement.
The FDA said an animal's waste could contaminate grain which is then made into flour. Any bacteria is killed, the agency said, through baking, boiling, roasting and frying. That step doesn't happen with raw dough, the agency said.
Food borne illness outbreaks linked to flour are extremely rare. Seattle food safety lawyer Bill Marler, widely regarded as an expert in the field, said the only other one he could recall was the 2009 recall of Nestle Toll House cookie dough, which was believed to be tied to the flour used to make the dough.
To avoid all this bacteria, be sure to cook all dough, including cookie dough, cake mix and batter, thoroughly. Wash your hands. Don't give kids raw dough to play with.
