FDA warns against eating cookie dough

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

In a warning that’s sure to disappoint many who enjoy sneaking a taste of cookie dough, federal regulators said this week that people should not eat raw dough or batter of any kind due to an ongoing outbreak of illnesses related to a strain of E. coli bacteria found in some recalled flour.

Raw dough also should not be used for homemade play clay for children or to make ornaments, according to the Food and Drug Administration. Restaurants are being advised by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to refrain from giving children raw dough to play with while they wait for their meals.

The flour in question is among 10 million pounds voluntarily recalled last month by General Mills, the FDA said. It comes from a General Mills facility in Kansas City, Mo., that the CDC pinpointed earlier this month as the likely source for dozens of illnesses in 20 states related to a strain of E. coli. General Mills says a sample of the recalled flour tested positive for the E. coli strain.