Raw cookie dough is cause for concern, study reveals

Cookie dough manufacturers must ensure that ready-to-bake products are as safe as ready-to-eat products, claims a new study that traced a 2009 E coli outbreak in the US back to raw cookie dough.

While other ingredients used in the cookie dough could contain pathogens, the researchers linked raw flour to the E coli outbreak as it is the only product that does not undergo specific processing to kill pathogens.

According to the researchers, food processors should consider the use of pasteurised flour in ready-to-cook or ready-to-bake products that are likely to be consumed without cooking or baking, even though warning labels caution people from consuming the uncooked product.

More effective consumer education about the risks of eating raw cookie dough is also required, the study said.

The study, conducted by the US-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, evaluated an outbreak during which 77 people across 30 states fell ill.

The researchers analysed the medical records of 35 patients who were hospitalised, and found that 94% of those had consumed raw cookie dough, despite instructions that it should be baked prior to consumption.

The study found that adolescents were more likely to eat raw cookie dough, as 71% of those who fell ill were under 19 years old.

Nestlé’s Toll House raw prepackaged cookie dough was implicated in the 2009 E coli outbreak, following which the company had recalled 3.6 million packages.

This was the first time that the ready-to-bake commercial prepackaged cookie dough was linked to an E coli outbrea; earlier outbreaks were traced to leafy green vegetables, ground beef and sprouts.

Nestlé and other food companies have since then switched to heat-treated flour to make the products as safe as the ready-to-eat product.

E coli O157:H7 is a deadly bacterium that can cause bloody diarrhoea, dehydration, nausea, vomiting and, in the most severe cases, kidney failure.

Caption::Researchers noted that food processors should consider the use of pasteurised flour in ready-to-cook or ready-to-bake products. (Image courtesy of Geraldine.)