Stop eating raw cookie dough, FDA warns

<p>This time, it&#39;s not your WebMD.com-obsessed grandma saying raw cookie dough is bad for you. It&#39;s the Food and Drug Administration.</p><p>It&#39;s not the usual spiel of salmonella in raw eggs either. The FDA warned in recent months,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.fda.gov/Food/RecallsOutbreaksEmergencies/Outbreaks/ucm504192.htm" target="_blank">38 people</a>&nbsp;from 20 states got sick from a certain strain of E. coli. And for many, it was raw flour that made them sick.</p><p>The cases were partially linked to a General Mills facility in Kansas City, Missouri. In May, the company started a voluntary recall of flour sold in November and December of last year.</p><p>But the FDA is now trying to make it clear that, in general, eating raw flour is a bad idea.</p><p>A senior adviser for the agency said, &quot;Flour is derived from a grain that comes directly from the field and typically is not treated to kill bacteria.&quot;</p><p>So let&#39;s say an animal relieves itself in the field. That bacteria isn&#39;t necessarily cleaned out. Baking, however, kills it.</p><p>A different FDA adviser told&nbsp;<a href="http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/06/29/dont-eat-raw-dough-f-d-a-cautions/" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>&nbsp;most companies actually heat-treat what they present as &quot;raw&quot; cookie dough. So your favorite ice cream topping is still probably safe.</p><p>But the FDA warns eating the dough directly isn&#39;t the only thing that can make you sick. It also said not to play with the dough and to wash your hands before and after touching raw flour.</p><p><i>This video includes clips from&nbsp;</i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CH__wfuMl6g" target="_blank"><i>Ben &amp; Jerry&#39;s</i></a><i>,&nbsp;</i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YX21mGNbFrU" target="_blank"><i>KSHB</i></a><i>,&nbsp;</i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vucgD8TvkeA" target="_blank"><i>WCCO</i></a><i>&nbsp;and&nbsp;</i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQlyPSzjzP4" target="_blank"><i>KRBK</i></a><i>&nbsp;and images from Getty Images and&nbsp;</i><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/theaudiochick/4429733110/in/photolist-rQ6c6s-rQ6bLE-4o46jX-kRNsHz-kXhhX-j4k5g-4EfrR2-85stTS-8p8oMJ-dRaFp7-9VwW5x-fkxgJx-86K6k9-9m1ryA-dXqa8T-42WJY-s7xvX1-rNmCsF-raT2UD-oQUaMX-7PYjWD-5fUwG4-6xQVfs-raT4ex-9A61d6-bZbiVf-8euQbo-7x6j2L-4cwDc9-raT5m2-4mRwYz-nZxF4x-fXVUD-Drkpt4-6iqD6B-5K4efA-Cg98N6-aqVroJ-fXUvh-4dNiQL-B6bdSM-4sevUS-7KrxjN-BSZGcS-B65Azh-4GUThZ-HdvvTF-rQ7r8L-s7CmgX-u9Hwv6" target="_blank"><i>Gwen / CC BY 2.0</i></a><i>.</i></p><hr><b>Trending stories at <a href="http://www.newsy.com">Newsy.com</a></b><ul class="inline-related-links"><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/videos/how-do-fireworks-work/">How Do Fireworks Work?</a></li><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/videos/extremely-rare-galaxy-sheds-light-on-how-others-get-their-shapes/">Extremely Rare Galaxy Sheds Light On How Others Get Their Shapes</a></li><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/videos/scientists-are-getting-closer-to-a-working-zika-vaccine/">Scientists Are Getting Closer To A Working Zika Vaccine</a></li></ul>