Category: Cooperative Extension
Don’t Even Think About Eating that Cookie Dough
March 04, 2024 Written by Diane Oliver, MPH, RDN - Extension Agent & Gemma Erickson, MS – Dietetic Intern
Spring baking season is coming. This article will provide some “food for thought.”
Numerous foodborne illnesses are caused by food product contamination due to improper food handling practices or outbreaks identified in manufacturing facilities. Of the estimated 48 million individuals affected by foodborne illness every year, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die. Flour is made from raw grain that is grown and harvested in nature and is exposed to the elements, as there is no way to prevent exposure to animals or elements with fences or greenhouses. Flour is not a ready-to-eat ingredient since traditional milling does not include a process to eliminate the presence of pathogens. Flour is rarely thought of to be as risky as other raw commodities or ingredients such as meat and eggs, but it can still harbor disease-causing bacteria such as Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli and Salmonella. Naturally occurring pathogens are present in nature, fields, and crops. Six foodborne outbreaks have been linked to wheat flour and flour products in the United States and Canada since 2009, sickening nearly 200 people with E. coli and Salmonella. (Widmar, Demarchi, Feng)
Contamination Risk
Even though flour is a low-moisture food, there is a risk of microbial contamination because traditional milling of grains does not eliminate potential pathogens. Consumers are not aware of the risk involved in raw flour consumption, and many eat or taste raw doughs or batters. Consumers are also vulnerable to advice from online sources and social media, which may not always present accurate food safety recommendations. A Food Safety and Nutrition Survey collected in 2019 showed about 63% and 39% of participants did not think there was a likelihood of them getting sick from eating uncooked flour and raw homemade cookie dough. Additionally, 34% of participants reported they had tasted or eaten raw batter or dough in the previous 12 months. (Windmar, Thomas, Verril)
Ready-To-Eat Flour
Ready-to-eat flour goes through an additional step of processing for items such as raw cookie dough ice cream. Unless there is a specific need in the finished food product, there is no “kill step” in the flour milling process. Heat treating flour at home as a kill step is highly discouraged due to factors such as time, temperature, equipment used, and type of flour. Flour bleaching is a conditioning process to change the texture of flour to make it softer, but bleaching is not a kill step. Therefore bleached flour is unsafe for raw consumption.
A 2021 study focused on media attention devoted to flour and flour-related food safety found mentions of about flour fluctuate seasonally, often increasing from November to December ahead of the winter holiday season. The interest in flour and its use remains seasonal and predictably related to societal trends, such as increased baking at home during the holidays or 2020 stay-at-home orders due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Awareness of flour-related food safety risks seem largely absent based on online media data collection and analysis, except in immediate reactions to flour recalls. More flour safety education programs may be desired to support consumers’ informed decision-making. Research has shown consumers prefer food safety messages on flour packages that are separated from other content on the package. However, current flour safety messages on packages are not effective in conveying information and changing consumer behavior. More science-based messaging strategies need to be developed to guide flour safety communication. (Jung, DeMarchi, Thomas)
Recalls and Outbreaks
According to a study published in 2020, 85% of flour consumers were unaware of flour recalls or outbreaks, and 66% said they had eaten raw cookie dough or batter. Only 17% believed they would be affected by flour recalls or outbreaks. The majority of media about flour is about its use, and relatively small shares of media attention are devoted to safety. Additional flour safety education programs may be desired to support consumers in informed decision-making, especially as interest in baking and home use of flour as a raw ingredient increases. The education can be conducted focusing on the potential risks of flour, how to access proper outbreak and recall announcements, or how to interpret food risk information. Social media can play an important role in keeping people informed about flour and related illnesses. Still, the majority of media about flour is about its use, and relatively small shares of media attention are devoted to flour food safety. Additional flour safety education programs may be desired to support consumers in informed decision-making, especially as interest in baking and home use of flour as a raw ingredient increases. The education can be conducted focusing on the potential risks of flour, how to access proper outbreak and recall announcements, or how to interpret food risk information. (Jung, Fang)
Studies and Surveys
Additionally, a 2021 study conducted online surveys to study consumers’ flour handling practices and knowledge about food safety risks related to flour. The surveys also evaluated message impact of food safety messages in communicating information and convincing consumers to adopt safe flour handling practices. In these online surveys, flour-using consumers from the United States reported they used flour to make cakes, cookies, and bread. Most consumers stored flour in sealed containers. Less than 1% of flour-using consumers kept a record of product identification numbers and less than 11% kept brand and use-by date information. The surveys discovered 85% of consumers were unaware of flour recalls or outbreaks, and 17% believed they would be affected by flour recalls or outbreaks. If the recall affected the flour they bought, 47% of consumers reported they would buy the same product from a different brand for a few months before they returned to the recalled brand. Among consumers who use flour to bake, 66% said they ate raw cookie dough or batter. Those who ate raw dough were more difficult to convince to avoid eating and playing with raw flour than those who did not eat raw dough. Food safety messages were less impactful on those raw dough eaters compared to non-raw dough eaters. Compared with food safety messages that only contained recommendations, food safety messages with recommendations and an explanation as to the benefits of the practice were more effective in convincing consumers to change their practices. (Feng)
Prevent Foodborne Illnesses
To summarize, there are multiple steps you can take to prevent getting a foodborne illness from raw flour. If you are storing your raw flour in a sealed container, make sure you take a picture of the bag before throwing it away. This will ensure you have information on the flour brand, product identification numbers, and use-by date information. Another way to prevent foodborne illness is to refrain from eating raw batter. No matter how tempting it may be, it’s not worth the risk of consuming bacteria such as Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli and Salmonella. Flour companies should also be encouraged to add science-based explanations with food safety messaging on flour packages advising against raw flour consumption.
References
Jung J, Widmar NO, Subramani S, et al. Online media attention devoted to flour and flour-related safety in 2017 to 2020. J Food Prot. 2022;85(1):73-84.
DeMarchi J, Wu F, Das S, et al. Safe Flour Handing: Know Your “Roll.” Partnership for Food Safety Education Webinar. November 1, 2023. Accessed November 1, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvPx5p-qyUE
Feng Y, Archila-Godínez JC. Consumer knowledge and behaviors regarding food safety risks associated with wheat flour. J Food Prot. 2020;84(4):628-638. doi:10.4315/JFP-19-562
Thomas MS, Berglund ZR, Low M, et al. Evaluation of flour safety messages on commercially available packages: an eye-tracking study. Foods. 2022;11(19):2997. doi:10.3390/foods11192997
Verril L, Lando AM, Wu F, et al. Consumption of raw flour in the United States: results from the 2019 U.S. Food and Drug Administration Food Safety and Nutrition Survey. J Food Prot. 2022;85(1):31-35. doi:10.4315/jfp-21-256