FDA warns to not eat raw cookie dough after flour recall
(KMSP) - We’ve all heard eating raw cookie dough can make us sick, but the FDA is issuing a new warning after an outbreak of sicknesses linked to flour used in dough.
General Mills issued a recall about a month ago: Gold Medal flour may be linked to E. Coli Outbreak
The company is now expanding the recall to include Gold Medal flour, Wondra flour, and Signature Kitchens flour made earlier in the fall. Information on those recalled brands can be found here.
The raw flour may contain bacteria called, Shiga toxic-producing E. coli O121. The FDA says common symptoms include diarrhea and abdominal cramps. Some illnesses can last longer and be more severe. Leslie Smoot, Ph. D., a senior advisor in the FDA’s Office of Food Safety says, “Flour is derived from a grain that comes directly from the field and typically is not treated to kill bacteria.”
The FDA is also warning parents of young children to be on alert, it says if your child is in day care of school they may be using “play” clay which is homemade from raw dough.
Raw dough is risky to eat because no “kill step” happens before consuming. Kill steps that destroy infection-linked bacteria include boiling, baking, roasting, microwaving and frying, according to the FDA.
Read the full warning here: FDA issues warning over raw dough