Health officials announced last week that flour was behind the recent multi-state salmonella outbreak that led to a dozen people falling ill.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an investigation notice on March 30 indicating that a salmonella outbreak between December 6, 2022, and February 13, 2023, is believed to have originated from flour.
Among the cases that popped up across the United States — including the states of California, Missouri, Iowa, Virginia, New York, Tennessee, and others — the CDC found that most of the individuals reported consuming raw dough prior to falling ill.
Three of the 12 victims of the bacterial infection had to be hospitalized. The CDC believes that many more illnesses went unreported or untested.
Although the investigators have not yet been able to pinpoint an exact brand of flour, they have advised the public to say no to raw dough.
Uncooked dough or batter contains raw flour, which is capable of carrying germs like salmonella and E. coli.
Both are known to cause food poisoning, which presents as fever, diarrhea, and stomach cramps.
In the case of salmonella, these symptoms usually begin anywhere from six hours to six days after consuming contaminated food and last for up to seven days.
Some people — the elderly and children under age 5 — are vulnerable to more severe symptoms of salmonella infection. This may include a fever above 102 degrees Fahrenheit, bloody diarrhea, or dehydration, per the CDC. It is advised to seek medical attention if the illness progresses to this stage.
As tempting as a quick spoonful of raw cookie or brownie dough might seem, the fact is, the majority of flour for sale today is raw. Until it is brought to a temperature capable of killing germs, it presents a risk to our health.
As such, the CDC recommends washing your hands and any surfaces after contact with raw flour.
It is possible to prepare flour for non-baking purposes, such as homemade playdough for kids, by heat-treating it, per the Center for Foodborne Illness Research and Prevention.
For that cookie dough taste, it’d be better to stick with the store-bought ice cream flavor.
The CDC estimates that about 1.35 million people are infected with salmonella each year across the U.S. Around 26,500 of these cases lead to hospitalizations and 420 end up being fatal.
