Cookie dough may taste great but be warned: It's making people sick

I'm sad to tell you the newest food recall involves one of my very favorite foods: Nestle Toll House Cookies.

Friday Nestle recalled 300,000 cases of cookie dough including refrigerated cookie bar dough, cookie dough tub, cookie dough tubes, limited edition cookie dough items, seasonal cookie dough and Ultimates cookie bar dough. It includes chocolate chip dough, gingerbread, sugar and peanut butter dough and other varieties. The recall occurred after 66 reports of E-coli were reported in 28 states. All the infected people consumed raw cookie dough.

According to the story I read, "The FDA advised consumers to throw away any Nestle Toll House cookie dough products in their homes and asked retailers, restaurateurs and other foodservice operations not to sell or serve any of the products. "This has been a very quickly moving situation," Nestle spokeswoman Roz O'Hearn said, adding the company took action within 24 hours of learning of the problem. O'Hearn said the company will "cooperate fully" with the FDA's investigation."

According to the Nestle website, "Consumers who have purchased these products should not consume them. Instead, we are asking that consumers return these products to their local grocer for a full refund. We invite consumers with questions to contact Nestlé Consumer Services at 1-800-559-5025 and visit our web site at www.verybestbaking.com.

The products involved in the voluntary recall include all varieties of Nestlé TOLL HOUSE refrigerated Cookie Bar Dough, Cookie Dough Tub; Cookie Dough Tube; Limited Edition Cookie Dough items; Seasonal Cookie Dough and Ultimates Cookie Bar Dough. Variety information is included in the list below."

Description Consumer

Unit Code (UPC)
Nestle Toll House Cookie &
Brownie Dough
COOKIE & BROWNIE DOUGH BAR
Chocolate Chip bar 16.5oz 0
50000 62231 3
Chocolate Chip bar 16.5oz 0 50000 11308 8
Chocolate Chunk
bar 16.5oz 0 50000 62235 1
Walnut Chocolate Chip bar 16.5oz 0 50000 62233 7
Jumbo Chocolate Chip bar 16.5oz 0 50000 62237 5
Oatmeal Raisin bar
16.5oz 0 50000 06219 5
Sugar Cookies bar 16.5oz 0 50000 62244 3
Sugar
Cookies bar 16.5oz 0 5000012178 6
Mini Chocolate Chip bar 16.5oz 0 50000
62242 9
Mini Chocolate Chip bar 16.5oz 0 5000012188 5
Mini Brownie Bites
bar 16oz 0 50000 62227 6
Fudgy Brownie With Peanut Butter Filling 19oz 0
50000 00820 9

COOKIE DOUGH TUB
Chocolate Chip tub 40oz 0 50000 62246
7
Chocolate Chip tub 80oz (5 lb) 0 50000 00934 3
Sugar tub 40oz. 0 50000
62253 5
Gingerbread tub 40oz 0 50000 44060 3
Peanut Butter tub 40oz 0
50000 44062 7

TUBE (CHUB) DOUGH
Chocolate Chip tube 16.5oz 0 50000
62239 9
Chocolate Chip tube 32oz 0 50000 00400 3

ULTIMATES COOKIE
BAR DOUGH
Ultimates Peanut Butter Cups, Chips & Chocolate Chunks bar
16oz 0 50000 00922 0
Ultimates White Chip Macadamia Nut bar 16oz 0 50000
00923 7
Ultimates Chocolate Chip & Chunks with Pecans bar 16oz 0 50000
00925 1
Ultimates Chocolate Chip Lovers 16oz 0 50000 00926 8
Ultimates
Turtles bar 16oz 0 50000 00928 2
Ultimates Peanut Butter Lovers bar 16oz 0
50000 00507 9
Ultimates Chocolate Chip with Caramel Filling bar 16oz 0 50000
44066 5
Ultimates Chocolate Chip with Chocolate Filling bar 16oz 0 50000
44069 6

SEASONAL COOKIE & BROWNIE DOUGH
Valentine Hearts Sugar
Cookie Shapes 15.5oz 0 50000 12009 3
Valentine Swirled Chocolate Chip bar
16oz 0 50000 00931 2
Fudgy Brownies With Raspberry Filling 19oz 0 50000
20090 0
Easter Eggs Sugar Cookie Shapes 15.5oz 0 50000 52009 1
Easter
Swirled Chocolate Chip bar 16oz 0 50000 00932 9
Easter Swirled Mini Brownie
Bites bar 18 oz 0 50000 20093 1
Red, White & Blue Swirled Choc Chip bar
16oz 0 50000 00937 4
Halloween Pumpkin Pals Sugar Cookies 13.5oz 0 50000
06217 1
Halloween Swirled Chocolate Chip bar 16oz 0 50000 00929 9
Halloween Swirled Fudgy Brownies bar 18oz 0 50000 00088 3
Christmas
Shapes Sugar Cookies 15.5oz 0 50000 00505 5
Christmas Swirled Chocolate Chip
bar 16oz 0 50000 00930 5
Christmas Swirled Fudgy Brownies bar 18oz 0 50000
00089 0
Limited Edition Mint Swirled Chocolate Chip 16oz 0 50000 00827 8

Discontinued Varieties
Valentine Hearts Sugar Cookies 13.5oz 0 50000
44056 6
Easter Brownie Bar 18oz 0 50000 00518 5
Easter Bunnies Sugar
Cookies 13.5oz 0 50000 44058 0
Halloween Sugar Shapes 15.5oz 0 50000 00829 2
Christmas Sugar Cookie Tube 16oz 0 50000 00448 5
Oatmeal Cranberry
Cookie Tub 48 oz. 0 50000 62229 0

So I guess my mother was right; I shouldn't eat raw cookie dough. None of us should (I know it's terribly hard NOT to eat it....it's so delicious). The website also said not to cook the dough and eat it believing you will then be safe from the E-coli. While it's true cooking does destroy the bacteria, anything that the dough has come in contact with (your hands, the counter, a knife) will have the bacteria on it and you can still become ill. My advice would be to just return it to the store and get your money back. I know that's what I would do.

By the way, haven't I mentioned how scared I am becoming of food? I don't mean ALL food but I mean it when I say one of these days I'll grow or raise everything I eat. It's just too scary to trust that all the food I buy is safe. Cookie dough. Imagine that.