Cookie Dough and E. Coli Complications

Opening cookie dough as a child or adult is so much fun, because not only does it taste great but you know it brings the best end result… fresh cookies! However, many people have sustained complications from ingesting raw cookie dough in the past. As adults, we understand the warnings of never consuming raw cookie dough because it could be lined with salmonella, which can cause many complications and even death. In fact, a woman died after years of a terrible battle due to a cookie dough-related disease years ago. The woman, Linda Rivera, ate a couple of spoonfuls of prepackaged cookie dough that was later found to be contaminated with a strain of bacteria known as E. Coli. She spent many years battling the terrible disease that ensued, dealing with her kidneys failing and going into septic shock that caused many operations.

E. Coli and Findings

The realities regarding E. Coli are very serious, because it can be extremely deadly if you become contaminated with the bacteria. E. Coli can be found in the flour of cookie dough, according to recent reports that have been conducted due to the tremendous amount of people who have fallen ill. In fact, on May 31 of this year, General Mills recalled 10 million pounds of flour after an investigation found that grain could be linked to an outbreak of E. Coli. This past Friday, the company expanded on the recall because the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found new cases involved with the issue. Because of the tainted flour, 42 fell sick and 11 more have been sent to the hospital with complications.

The FDA has also issued a consumer update that included warnings to children and adults alike that raw dough, including cookie dough, could cause these complications. The agency has also alerted adults to the fact that even playing with the dough could cause issues. Consumers should constantly be washing their hands and kitchen surfaces fully after raw dough has been handled.

E. Coli in dough is certainly not a new “thing,” studies have reported. In fact, E. Coli has been found in commercial flour as far back as the 1990s, even though at the time they did not understand what was causing all of the complications in consumers. In 2009 was when this news first hit when the E. Coli in pre-made commercial cookie dough was named as the suspect. In 2009, cookie dough sickened 77 people in 30 states and lead to the death of Linda Rivera as previously mentioned. Jenny Scott of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition said about the complications, “We have a lot of new tools for detecting outbreaks and being able to trace them to their source, and because of that we’re picking up more outbreaks in foods that we’re a little surprised about.”

Right now, the FDA is taking many precautions to make sure that the flour we consume is safe. However, a lot of the responsibility rests on the manufacturers. New regulations that are being applied this coming year will require manufacturers to identify potential hazards and monitor them as needed. If you have fallen ill due to contaminated food, you may have a case and should contact an attorney as soon as possible. At Maggiano, DiGirolamo & Lizzi we care about you and your case.