Raw Dough Is Not Just an Egg Problem

Never eat or taste raw flour, dough or batter, the FDA says. Flour may not look like a raw food, but it usually is, just like fresh tomatoes or carrots. Cooking is the only way to be sure foods made with flour and raw eggs are safe.

Grains are grown in fields, the agency says, and like all foods grown outdoors they may be exposed to harmful bacteria such as Salmonella and pathogenic E. coli. Processing raw grains into flour does not kill those bacteria. Many foods made with flour also contain raw eggs, which may carry bacteria too.

Since 2009, several outbreaks of foodborne illness have involved raw flour or products that contain it, such as cake mixes and cookie dough, the FDA says. They resulted in 168 known illnesses and 20 hospitalizations.

The FDA's dos are simple. Follow package directions for cooking temperatures and times, keep raw flour and eggs separate from ready-to-eat foods, and refrigerate cookie and pastry dough as the package says, at a safe 40°F. Wash hands, utensils, bowls, pans and countertops carefully afterward.

The don'ts cover tempting shortcuts. Do not use cake mix in milkshakes or raw cookie dough in ice cream, do not let children eat or play with raw dough, and throw away recalled flour. Home heat treatment may not kill all bacteria and does not make flour safe to eat raw, the agency says.