For many, the best part of baking sweet treats is nibbling at the dough before it even hits the oven. Unfortunately, the FDA is taking some of the fun out of the kitchen.
The government organization has doubled down on its longstanding warning against consuming raw cookie dough, this time citing the flour as the source problem. The advisory comes after samples of General Mills flour were linked to a recent E. coli outbreak – launching a voluntary recall of 10 million pounds of the product.
The FDA and CDC have also long put the kibosh on eating dough due to salmonella, which can be contracted by eating raw eggs.
In the recall’s wake, the FDA is urging parents to totally eliminate their children’s interactions with raw dough. While the restriction is disappointing on its own, there may be another setback in our everyday diets: is cookie dough flavored ice cream also on the chopping block?
Yes and no. The FDA specifically says that homemade cookie dough ice cream is a no go, but assures that commercially made products should be safe to eat – if manufacturers use only treated flour and pasteurized eggs, that is.
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A spokeswoman for freezer regular Ben & Jerry’s tells PEOPLE in a statement that their cookie dough supplier uses “heat-treated flour in the production of our cookie dough therefore there is no bacterial contamination.”
“Food safety is a top priority for Ben & Jerry’s,” she says, adding of their food treatment program, “our cookie dough is unaffected by this recall.”
The flour heat treatment method is pretty much a staple in the refrigerated dough industry. In 2010, Nestle USA (you know, the people behind those break and bake treats) switched to the technology, according to Food Business News. Heating the flour reduces its microbial count, Food Business News said.
Luckily, Dreyer’s, Edy’s and Haagen-Dazs all fall under Nestle’s rule – so you’re in the clear for those freezer aisle brands as well.
So, while your homemade cookie dough consumption days are likely long over, the ice cream version is still safe. Just don’t try to make it at home – an actual plus for us lazy eaters.
—Lindsay Kimble
