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Cookie Dough
Cookie dough is a mixture of ingredients including flour, butter, sugar, salt, vanilla extract and eggs. Other ingredients can be added to the dough such as, chocolate chips, oatmeal, nuts or peanut butter, to vary the flavor and textures. A leavening agent such as baking soda or baking powder is also added when the dough is intended to be baked into cookies.

It has been stated by the FDA that it is not safe to eat raw cookie dough because some of the ingredients, if not handled properly, can lead to food-borne illness.

Eggs
Eggs have been known to be the host to multiple microorganisms, most notably Salmonella. However, the risk of an egg being contaminated with Salmonella is about 1 in 20,000 eggs. Eggs are an important part of cookie dough, providing the most moisture and protein to the mixture. They also help the cookie take its shape by binding with the flour’s protein and starches.

Flour
Flour is a product made from raw grains and roots, ground into a powder. Flour is made from raw agricultural products, most commonly wheat, but sometimes will include other crops such as corn or rye. With the product being grown in a field, there is opportunity for it to be exposed to the elements. There are other events such as animal visitors and unintended fertilizers and herbicides that may come in contact with the crop. This may lead to microorganisms being present that are not typically associated with a low-moisture food such as flour.

Recently, both Salmonella and E.coli have been found in “raw” flour. Because of this, the FDA has advised people to not eat raw batters or doughs before heating them thoroughly.

Salmonella
Salmonella is a gram-negative bacterium that is non-spore forming and utilizes organic sources to create energy. They are able to use oxygen, when available, but do not rely on it. There are multiple serotypes of salmonella, most notable include non-typhoidal types that are associated with food poisoning and typhoidal serotypes that lead to typhoid fever.

Salmonella is responsible for around one million foodborne illnesses each year in the US. Most common symptoms include diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps occurring anywhere from 12 to 72 hours post infection. The sickness lasts from 4 to 7 days and many people are able to battle the infection with little to no treatment.

Escherichia coli (E.coli)
E. coli is a gram-negative bacterium that can use oxygen when it is present to facilitate its energy processes. E.coli is a bacteria found in intestines of people and animals, these are the non-pathogenic strains and are imperative to having a healthy gut. Shiga toxin-producing E.coli (STEC) is a common pathogenic strain that is responsible for around 265,000 illnesses a year with symptoms such as diarrhea, stomach cramps and vomiting.

Adequate Cooking Temperatures
To ensure that microorganisms are killed, it is important to heat egg-containing products to an internal temperature of 160°F. This follows the USDA’s food safety guidelines. When working with raw flour, and making sweet treats that are not going to be baked, it is best to pasteurize the flour. Directions can easily be found, but in short, like eggs, the flour must be heated to 160°F and this can be achieved by using a microwave of high enough wattage. You can also heat the flour in an oven at 350°F for about 5 minutes to achieve the same goal. However, it should be noted that once you heat the flour some of the gluten may be destroyed and render the ingredient no good for baking.

Ready-to-Eat Cookie Dough
Because of the concerns previously mentioned, there are now ready-to-eat cookie dough and recipes available. These are made without eggs and some without flour, and they sometimes include ingredients such as chickpeas or oatmeal.

Outbreaks

 * Nestle Toll House – Raw flour found to be the culprit in a 2009 E.coli outbreak involving Nestle's prepackaged cookie dough.
 * General Mills – In 2016, General Mills recalled flour and cake mixes because of E. coli found in the raw flour, if people were to eat raw dough before cooking the mix they could become ill.
 * Blue Bell Ice Cream Recall – Listeria found in the facility that produces cookie dough for the ice cream's chocolate chip cookie dough and other cookie dough containing flavors.