Why eating raw cookie dough is a no-no, at Christmas or any other time, experts say
- Raw flour can be contaminated with E coli, and raw eggs with salmonella
- Children should not be allowed to play with dough because they can get ill from handling it, US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention says
The Christmas cookies are in the oven; the mixing bowl, which is still coated with the sugary sweet dough, is calling your name. Do not listen to it, health experts warn.
With holiday baking season under way, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is once again urging people not to eat unbaked cookie dough – not even a tiny taste – because “unbaked products that are intended to be cooked, such as dough or batter, can make you sick.”
“Say No to Raw Dough!” the CDC warns. The potential problem is with two primary ingredients. Raw flour can be contaminated with Escherichia coli (E coli), and raw eggs have been a known carrier of salmonella bacteria.
Both bacteria are killed in the cooking process, but contaminated food that is not cooked or is undercooked has been known to make people ill, according to the CDC.
“When you’re making cookies, often the recipe calls for raw eggs,” Lindsay Malone, a registered dietitian with the Cleveland Clinic, said in 2016. “Whenever you consume raw eggs, you increase your risk of salmonella poisoning.” Malone added: “When there’s a risk for salmonella, you really want to be cautious and take steps to avoid it as much as possible.”
