FDA warns against eating raw dough amid E. coli fears

If it contains flour, make sure your kids aren’t eating it, and as soon as they finish playing with it, wash their hands as well as any play surfaces, the FDA says.

Flour produced at a General Mills facility in Kansas City, Missouri, is believed to be the source of the outbreak, CDC officials said earlier this month.

General Mills voluntarily recalled 10 million pounds of unbleached, all-purpose and self-rising flours sold under the brand names Gold Medal, Signature Kitchen’s and Gold Medal Wondra.

Flour has a long shelf-life and consumers are urged to throw these items away if they’re present in their home.

The FDA just said no to raw dough, but not because of eggs.

Some of the flour was also sold to restaurants that allow children to play with dough while waiting for their meals.

You can read the FDA’s full warning on raw cookie dough here.

Flour, regardless of the brand, can contain bacteria that cause disease.

Despite the recently announced recall, eating raw dough has always carried the risk of salmonella poisoning due to the presence of raw eggs.

So far, a reported 38 people in 20 states have been infected by a strain of bacteria called Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O121 found in flour, The New York Times reports.

Common symptoms of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli is often-bloody diarrhea and abdominal cramps.

According to the FDA, a recent E. coli outbreak has been linked to contaminated flour. For anyone who still hopes to use raw cookie dough in something like homemade cookie dough ice cream, authorities suggest using commercially made dough.

The FDA said an animal’s waste could contaminate grain which is then made into flour. She warned that the bottom line is “don’t eat raw dough”. While most people will bounce back within a week, it can even lead to kidney failure, especially among the elderly and children under 5. Seriously, no sweet treat is worth those side effects, and the warm, freshly baked cookies will be well worth the wait.

Follow package directions for cooking products containing flour at proper temperatures and for specified times.