Jun 19, 2009 5:54 pm US/Central
Officials Track E. Coli Outbreak To Cookie Dough
(WCCO)
-
-
The danger is not in eating the raw dough, although that's not recommended. Health officials say refrigeration doesn't kill the E. coli, and they don't recommend baking the dough either.
CBS
Cookie dough made by
Nestle was pulled from store shelves Friday after more than 60 people got sick with E. coli.
"When cookie dough came up as a potential suspect, it certainly caught our attention," said state epidemiologist Carlota Medus. She tracks outbreaks of food borne illness for the
Minnesota Department of Health.
When they had six confirmed cases of
E. coli O157:H7 infection in the state, and five of those cases were women, they were looking for a common link.
"Typically we're dealing with something like hamburger where we'd see more of a wider age distribution and more balanced gender distribution," said Medus. "So there was something different about this outbreak."
The Centers for Disease Control traced it to Nestle Toll House Cookie Dough. Sixty-six people in 28 states have become ill because of eating the raw dough.
E. coli O157:H7 is a severe strain that can cause kidney failure. Symptoms of infection include diarrhea, which may become bloody, cramps and a low fever.
The dough was removed from stores Friday. The danger is not in eating the raw dough, although that's not recommended. Health officials say refrigeration doesn't kill the E. coli, and they don't recommend baking the dough either.
"One of the concerns would be that when you're handling the product you can actually contaminate your hands," said Medus. "And then in turn contaminate something else that you're going to eat, or contaminate surfaces that will come in contact with other food. So the most prudent thing to do is to throw away the product that you have or to return it to the store. And definitely not eat it."
Nestle says it is still OK to eat ice cream made with raw cookie dough. It's also safe to use Nestle baking goods like chocolate chips and cocoa powder. Anyone with any type of Nestle raw cookie dough should take it back to the store or throw it away.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Puppy Passengers: New Car For Dog Lovers
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
