That’s the message the CDC, Consumer Reports, the government, etc., want you to hear and heed. And they want you to know it’s not all about the eggs.
Sure, we’ve heard for decades about the horrors the raw eggs in cookie dough and cake batter can wreak upon our bodies in the form of salmonella food poisoning. And I think it’s safe to say most of us have largely ignored that warning. Maybe we ate a little less brownie batter, but that’s all.
Now, I’m not discounting the risk raw eggs pose. I do think it’s a bit overblown. Driving in a car is a lot riskier, and we do it every day without a second thought.
Anyway, it appears too many of us have not taken the message to heart, so the killjoys out there have added a new threat to the mix. I’m sure you’ve also heard that the CDC and others have been warning us for a few years now about the risk of eating raw flour. Including the flour in cake batter and cookie dough, but extending also to play dough and raw flour on the countertops.
They say it’s because the raw flour is contaminated with E. coli. There have been two E. coli outbreaks in the past decade attributed to raw flour. A total of 84 people in the US became ill. One developed severe kidney disease.[1] No one died. The risk seems low. From 2001 through 2021, the CDC reports that there were 752 illnesses and 223 hospitalizations. In a 20-year span, that again seems fairly low risk.[2]
Unfortunately, E. coli aren’t the only bugs in the flour. They invited their Salmonella friends to join in on the fun. And Salmonella bacteria cause a lot more illnesses and more serious ones.[3]
The CDC reports that the very young and elderly are at greatest risk for illness. Make the cookies when Junior and Grandpa are napping.[4] Statistics from the 2019 E. coli-in-the-flour outbreak show that women accounted for 71% of all cases.[5] I guess we know who was making the cookies.
A German study showed that the bacteria in the flour remained viable for up to nine months when stored at room temperature. They presume the time would be less at higher temperatures and longer if the flour was stored in a cooler area.[6] They didn’t say whether they had done any testing with oxygen absorbers and mylar bags. So it seems like being sure to use older flour is wise if you’re going to be taste-testing the cookie dough. For those of the preparedness persuasion, rotating the flour accomplishes the task nicely.
And if you’re wondering exactly how the bacteria get into the flour, this is what the researchers say: It starts in the wheat fields, with contamination of the soil or water by animal feces. So it’s in the whole grain as well as milled flour, which isn’t heated during the milling process.[7] [8]
They also say that just to be on the safe side, if making cookie dough or play dough for the kids, heat treat the flour first. To do this, preheat the oven to 300°F. Place the flour on a cookie sheet and then put it in the oven for 2 minutes. Take the flour out of the oven and stir it around. Return to the oven and heat for 2 more minutes. At this point you can start checking the temperature with an instant-read thermometer. Once the flour reaches 165°F, it is pasteurized and ready for use after it has cooled for about 30 minutes.[9]
Links to related posts:
[1] https://www.rapidmicrobiology.com/news/pathogenic-e-coli-in-flour-a-food-safety-hazard
[2] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37081547/
[3] https://health.osu.edu/health/virus-and-infection/salmonella-poisoning-from-flour
[4] https://www.foodqualityandsafety.com/article/cdc-report-warns-about-pathogens-in-raw-flour/
[5] https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7016a4.htm
[6] https://www.rapidmicrobiology.com/news/pathogenic-e-coli-in-flour-a-food-safety-hazard
[7] https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/food-poisoning/eating-raw-cookie-dough-salmonella-infections
[8] https://health.osu.edu/health/virus-and-infection/salmonella-poisoning-from-flour
[9] https://www.bakingkneads.com/how-to-heat-treat-flour-at-home/
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