Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper

The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review

Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
News >  Nation/World

The CDC wants people to stop eating raw cookie dough. But it’s so tasty.

May 25, 2023 Updated Thu., May 25, 2023 at 10:08 p.m.

AACHEN, GERMANY - NOVEMBER 13: The cookie dough is pictured before it is running on an automatic conveyor belt to cut into shape at the gingerbread bakery Henry Lambertz on November 13, 2009 in Aachen, Germany. Lambertz is one of the two largest German baked goods manufacturers and is the leading global supplier of gingerbread, `Printen� and seasonal cakes. (Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)  (Andreas Rentz)
AACHEN, GERMANY - NOVEMBER 13: The cookie dough is pictured before it is running on an automatic conveyor belt to cut into shape at the gingerbread bakery Henry Lambertz on November 13, 2009 in Aachen, Germany. Lambertz is one of the two largest German baked goods manufacturers and is the leading global supplier of gingerbread, `Printen� and seasonal cakes. (Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images) (Andreas Rentz)
By Lindsey Bever Washington Post

Raw cookie dough seems to be an irresistible temptation for many people. Whether they pick a piece from the mixing bowl, lick the spoon used to scoop it, or even bite straight into a store-bought roll – they can’t help but ignore health authorities’ warnings to not eat it.

A salmonella outbreak linked to raw cookie dough has sickened at least 18 people in six states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Two people were hospitalized.

Nine of them reported eating raw cookie dough from Papa Murphy’s Take ‘N’ Bake Pizza, which has franchises across the country. Amid an investigation by the Food and Drug Administration, the pizza chain said it has stopped selling its take-and-bake Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and S’mores Bars, and health authorities say customers who bought those products should discard them.

The CDC regularly warns people to stop eating raw dough but acknowledges it’s a tough sell.

“When making cookies, brownies, cakes, or bread, you might be tempted to taste a bite before it’s fully baked,” the CDC says. “But you can get sick after eating or tasting raw (unbaked) dough or batter.”

Emily Nejad, owner of Bon Vivant Cakes, a cake- and cookie-decorating school in Chicago, understands the appeal.

“The appeal of eating raw cookie dough is all about the texture,” she said. “People love texture and variety, and cookie dough is the perfect mix of something that’s soft and kind of creamy and sort of chewy.”

She wonders, though, whether it also has something to do with nostalgia.

“It takes me right back to fifth-grade sleepovers where you’re staying up, you’re drinking soda, you’re watching teen movies and you are going to town on cookie dough and packages of marshmallows,” she said.

Nejad said she prefers crunchy cookies out of the oven, but does sample a small amount of her raw cookie dough.

“If you’re a chef, if you’re preparing food for people, that’s just part of it,” she said.

For cookie dough fans, Nejad said there are ways to mitigate the risk of contracting food-borne illnesses, such as making cookie dough using heat-treated flour and no eggs.

Why raw cookie dough can be unsafe

A poll conducted in 2010 by the Harvard School of Public Health found that 20 percent of Americans said they “often” ate products that may contain raw eggs, such as raw cookie dough, hollandaise sauce, Caesar salad dressing or mayonnaise, while 50% said they did so occasionally.

The potential problem with raw cookie dough is its two primary ingredients.

Raw flour can be contaminated with Escherichia coli (E. coli) and salmonella, and unpasteurized eggs have been a carrier of salmonella, too.

Both bacteria are killed in the cooking process, but contaminated food that is not cooked or is undercooked has been known to make people sick, according to the CDC.

Lindsay Malone, a dietitian, said these two bacteria are in the top five for causing food-borne illnesses in the United States.

Salmonella, specifically, can “infect the intestinal lining and cause infectious colitis, which, in turn, presents clinically in the form of diarrhea,” said Christine Lee, a gastroenterologist at the Cleveland Clinic.

Lee said the amount of food matters – those who consume a larger amount of contaminated food are at a greater risk of infection. but it is best to avoid eating raw cookie dough, she said.

Experts said those with compromised immune systems are at the highest risk for serious food-borne illness, which the CDC estimates affects 1 in 6 people each year in the United States.

The Spokesman-Review Newspaper

Local journalism is essential.

Give directly to The Spokesman-Review's Northwest Passages community forums series -- which helps to offset the costs of several reporter and editor positions at the newspaper -- by using the easy options below. Gifts processed in this system are not tax deductible, but are predominately used to help meet the local financial requirements needed to receive national matching-grant funds.

Active Person

Subscribe now to get breaking news alerts in your email inbox

Get breaking news delivered to your inbox as it happens.