The FDA just ruined everyone's day with this news about raw cookie dough


Freeze! Put the spoon down. Back away slowly from the refrigerator. And don't even think about putting that cookie dough in your mouth.
Crushing the appetites of bakers everywhere, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday that it is unsafe to eat raw cookie dough, even if there are no raw eggs involved. While everyone knows that eggs can give you salmonella, it is actually the raw flour that the FDA is now saying is unsafe — so say goodbye to gnawing on the brownie spoon, too.
Part of the risk comes from the fact that flour is not typically treated for bacteria, and animal waste can get into the grain before it gets processed. While that bacteria is killed in the process of baking, roasting, or frying, it doesn't get killed when you eat the flour raw. In the past several months, dozens of people have been sickened due to E. coli in flour, with 38 people in 20 states falling ill since December. General Mills ended up recalling flour products Gold Medal, Signature Kitchens, and Gold Medal Wondra if they were made between November and early December.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The flour strain of E. coli can give you abdominal cramps and bloody diarrhea, and for the elderly and those under 5 years old it can even result in kidney failure. But if that's the risk you're willing to take — go ahead, take a bite.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
An introvert's dream? Flu camps that offer £4,400 to spend two weeks alone
Under The Radar A fortnight in isolation may not be as blissful as it sounds
-
Can Trump put his tariffs on stronger legal footing?
Today's Big Question Appeals court says 'emergency' tariffs are improper
-
Film reviews: The Roses, Splitsville, and Twinless
Feature A happy union devolves into domestic warfare, a couple's open marriage reaps chaos, and an unlikely friendship takes surprising turns
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclub
Speed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's ills
Speed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, Stallone
Speed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's view
Speed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talk
Speed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'
Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play