Say No to Raw Dough

"Spending time with family while preparing delicious baked foods in the kitchen is a great way to celebrate special occasions. Follow these safety tips to help you stay healthy when handling raw dough.

When you prepare homemade dough for cookies, cakes,
and bread, you may be tempted to taste a bite before it is fully baked. But steer clear of this temptation—you can get sick after eating or tasting unbaked products that are intended to be baked, such as dough or batter. Children can get sick from handling or eating raw dough used for crafts or play clay, too.

Raw Dough Can Contain Bacteria That Cause Disease

Flour doesn’t look like a raw food, but typically, it is. This means it hasn’t been treated to kill germs such as Escherichia coli (E. coli), which causes food poisoning. Harmful germs can contaminate grain while it’s still in the field or at other steps during flour production. Processing steps like grinding grain and bleaching flour do not kill germs like E. coli.

Bacteria are killed only when food made with flour is cooked. This is why you should never taste or eat raw dough or batter—whether made from recalled flour or any other flour.

In recent years (2016 and 2019), two outbreaks of E. coli infections linked to raw flour made more than 80 people sick. Flour and baking mixes that contain flour have long shelf lives, so it’s a good idea to check your pantry to see if you have any flour or baking mixes that have been recalled in recent years. If you have any recalled flour or baking mixes, throw them away.

Raw eggs are another ingredient in uncooked batter and dough that can make you sick. Raw or lightly cooked eggs can contain Salmonella, a germ that causes food poisoning. Eggs are safe to eat when cooked and handled properly.

Some companies and stores offer edible cookie dough that uses heat-treated flour and pasteurized eggs or no eggs. Read the label carefully to make sure the dough is meant to be eaten without baking or cooking..."
Raw dough