- At least 12 people are infected with Salmonella, a bacterium that causes stomach upset.
- Most of them ate masa or raw masa before getting sick, according to the CDC.
- Even a small sample of raw cookie dough can be dangerous, so be sure to bake it before eating.
Twelve people from 11 different states have gotten sick with Salmonella in the past few months, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified the flour in the raw dough as the likely culprit.
The CDC has warned the public about the dangers of eating raw dough or battered in the past, as it contains flour and raw eggs that can make humans sick.
“Flour doesn’t look like a raw food, but most flour is raw,” says the CDC wrote on his website. “This means that it has not been treated to kill the germs that cause food poisoning.”
Even a small amount of raw dough could be enough to make you sick to your stomach, the CDC said.
The agency is working to find a specific brand of flour linked to the outbreak, which took place between December 2022 and February 2023. During that period, at least three people were hospitalized with Salmonella infections.
People fell ill in 11 states, according to the CDC: California, Oregon, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Tennessee, Ohio, Virginia and New York.
Raw dough has caused Salmonella outbreaks before
While raw cookie dough and cake batter can be tempting to eat, food poisoning experts warn that it’s a common source of foodborne illness.
Uncooked flour was recently named as one of the top 10 foods implicated in outbreaks of coronavirus disease. Consumer reports.
It’s not just Salmonella that could be lurking in your flour jar: Cake and brownie mixes have also been found to contain E. coli bacteria, most recently sickening 16 people in 2021.
To reduce the risk of Salmonella in raw dough, food safety attorney Bill Marler told Insider in an email that he recommends baking with flour that has already been heated to kill germs. You can buy heat-treated flour and edible cookie dough at stores, or put regular flour in the microwave or oven if you are making dough at home.
The CDC also recommends washing any bowl, utensil or surface that has come in contact with raw flour, including your hands, with warm, soapy water to prevent contamination.
