Raw Cookie Dough Scare!

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Book Whore
Raw Cookie Dough: So Tasty, So Dangerous


By Dan Mitchell
Posted Friday, June 19, 2009 - 3:07pmBuzz up!1 vote It's not known for sure yet whether Nestle Toll House cookies are to blame for an outbreak of E. coli that has sickened at least 66 people in 28 states, but it seems likely. "Many" of the afflicted people had eaten raw Toll House cookie dough, according to ABC News.

Nestle has recalled the refrigerated product and warned people against eating it raw, as incredibly delicious as it might be. They shouldn't eat it cooked either, the company said, until the source of the outbreak has been discovered. Cooking would normally kill the bacteria, but, of course, Nestle is taking no chances.

The E. coli strain "has not been detected in our product," Nestle said in a statement announcing the recall. But people "who have purchased these products should not consume them. Instead, we are asking that consumers return these products to their local grocer for a full refund."


Raw cookie dough is, to many of us, tastier than the cookies themselves, but Nestle advises on its packages that people shouldn't eat it raw.

Usually, though, it's OK to do so (or at least so we thought) with one exception: homemade raw cookie dough. As the people at WiseGeek point out, the homemade stuff contains raw eggs, which can pose a real danger.

The outbreak "points to the need for better funding for health surveillance," said lawyer Bill Marler, who sues food companies for a living. Oddly quoting himself on his blog, Marler wrote that the " 'fact that this outbreak was not detected until more than sixty people were ill in 28 states is precisely why we urgently need increased funding for the agencies responsible for public health,' said Marler. 'From the CDC to state and local health agencies, many dedicated people are working hard to protect consumers from tainted food, but they just don't have enough resources to do the job we ask of them.' "

Marler also posted a list of the particular products that have been recalled.

UPDATE June 22: A Nestle facility in Danville has been shut down and is crawling with inspectors. The number of victims has ticked up to at least 66 in 29 states. Marler writes today: "Everyone I talk to is stumped by how a bacteria normally associated with cattle feces made its way into the facility, and then into such a highly processed product."

He's right: good question. E. coli has infected raw vegetables several times, usually due to runoff from cattle operations. But this one's weird.

Dan Mitchell has written for The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, and Wired.
 
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