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"Just Say No" to Cookie Dough

Let the "Baking," but NOT the "Tasting" Season Begin:

KeepSafe Food Guest Blogger Allison Beattie admits to the "Truth she  Cannot Face" - The Danger of Raw Cookie Dough!         

Where are you my cookie dough people? Where are you at? You know, the people that eat half the package of cookie dough before baking the actual cookies. Or is that just me? Oops. (Certainly NOT the Food Safety Dietitian).

Raw cookie dough, in my opinion, is 10x tastier than baked cookies. Am I right? Well anyways, we’ve all heard “you’re going to get food poisoning, stop eating raw dough”. And I’m like, “why are you such a party pooper?” It’s totally worth getting sick for something that is ohhhhh so good. Right? Wrong.

The eggs in cookie dough carry risk (one estimate is 1 in 20,000 eggs) of Salmonella. Eggs naturally contain salmonella, so eating them raw proposes a risk of ingesting it. Not only this, but the NY Times reported that the FDA  has issued a message that some flour may pose a risk as well. Thanks for raining on our parade, FDA. One manufacturer has recalled its flour for possible E.Coli contamination.

These two bacteria in the human body can lead to severe cases of V_ _ _ _ _­­ _ ­­­G , D_ _ _ _ _ _ A and other gastrointestinal issues. Sorry, I just can’t have those gross words (even if I've already said "poop")  in the same article describing cookie dough, but trust you’ll fill in the blanks. So is that yummy bite of raw cookie dough worth potentially being sick for days? My heart says "yes" but my brain says  "no." My grumbling stomach breaks the tie and demands, "just bake them already", 160 degrees will render those germs harmless. I must deny my heart on this one. Goodbye raw cookie dough, I’ll miss you.   

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