Can You Eat Raw Cookie Dough?
Traditional raw cookie dough is not recommended due to food safety risks from both raw eggs and raw flour. Raw eggs may contain Salmonella, and raw flour can harbor E. coli and other bacteria. Edible cookie dough products are formulated without raw eggs and use heat-treated flour.
Key Takeaways
- Raw eggs in traditional cookie dough pose a Salmonella risk.
- Tasting a small amount of traditional raw dough is common but still carries some risk.
- Even doughs without eggs still contain raw flour and have some bacterial risk.
Explanation
Raw eggs in traditional cookie dough pose a Salmonella risk. While the risk per egg is relatively low (estimated at 1 in 20,000), Salmonella can cause serious illness, especially in children, elderly people, pregnant women, and those with weakened immune systems.
Raw flour is a less-known risk that many people overlook. Flour is a raw agricultural product that can contain harmful bacteria from the field, including E. coli. Unlike many foods, flour is not treated to kill pathogens before sale. Cooking or baking kills these bacteria.
Safe alternatives exist for cookie dough cravings. Commercial edible cookie dough uses pasteurized eggs or no eggs, and heat-treated flour. At home, you can make edible dough by heating flour in the microwave or oven to 165°F and using pasteurized eggs or omitting eggs entirely.
Things to Know
- Tasting a small amount of traditional raw dough is common but still carries some risk.
- Even doughs without eggs still contain raw flour and have some bacterial risk.
- Food poisoning outbreaks have been linked to raw flour, prompting recalls.