NEW YORK — Federal authorities are investigating a new national outbreak of a bacteria-triggered illness, this time related to a sweet treat treasured by kids and by children at heart — packaged raw cookie dough.
The federal Centers for Disease Control said its preliminary investigation showed "a strong association" between eating raw refrigerated cookie dough made by Nestlé and the illnesses of 65 people in 29 states whose lab results have turned up E. coli bacteria since March.
Two cases have been reported in Arizona.
About 25 of those people have been hospitalized, but no one has died. E. coli is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause bloody diarrhea, dehydration and, in the most severe cases, kidney failure.
Nestlé USA voluntarily recalled all of its Toll House refrigerated cookie dough products after the Food and Drug Administration advised consumers to throw away any Nestlé Toll House cookie dough products in their homes and asked retailers, restaurateurs and other food-service operations not to sell or serve any of the recalled products.
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Customers also can return any recalled product where they bought it for a full refund. The recall does not affect other Toll House products, including ice cream that contains raw Toll House dough.
FDA spokesman Michael Herndon said officials were confident that Nestlé refrigerated dough products caused the outbreak.
"This has been a very quickly moving situation," said Roz O'Hearn, spokeswoman for Nestlé's baking division, adding that the company took action within 24 hours of learning of the problem.
Laurie MacDonald, spokeswoman for Nestlé USA in Glendale, Calif., a unit of Switzerland-based Nestlé SA, said the company has temporarily stopped making the refrigerated dough products while the FDA investigates the Danville, Va., factory where all the recalled items are made.
"We hope to resume production as soon as possible," she said.
Nestlé holds a 41 percent share of the prepared cookie dough market.
The recall includes refrigerated cookie bar dough, cookie dough tubs, cookie dough tubes, limited-edition cookie dough items, seasonal cookie dough and Ultimates cookie bar dough. Nestlé said about 300,000 cases of Nestlé Toll House cookie dough are affected by the recall, which covers chocolate chip dough, gingerbread, sugar, peanut butter dough and other varieties.
The FDA said consumers should not try to cook the dough, even though it would be safe to eat if cooked, because the bacteria could move to their hands and to countertops and other cooking surfaces.
Raw cookie dough is so popular that it has spawned more than 40 groups on Facebook, complete with postings that read like love notes.
Stacey Oyler, a 33-year-old San Francisco resident, called it her "secret indulgence" — a treat that became irresistible when she was pregnant with her second child last August. She said she still indulges occasionally.
"I love the combination of the salt and sweet," she said. "You can't get that from a piece of chocolate."
But no raw cookie is necessarily safe. The eggs in Nestlé Toll House's dough are pasteurized, which eliminates most of the risk of salmonella infection from raw eggs. But other ingredients could contain pathogens or bacteria, and the company warns in product labels not to eat the dough raw.
Several recent food recalls have been related to bacterial contamination, including a salmonella outbreak last winter traced to a peanut company that sickened more than 600 people and was blamed for at least nine deaths. A separate outbreak of salmonella last year linked to jalapeño peppers from Mexico made 1,400 people ill.
Sarah Klein, staff attorney in the food-safety group at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer advocacy group, called the cookie-dough news disheartening.
"Unfortunately, I don't think that people who have been working in food safety for years can be surprised at this point and sadly, I don't think the American people are surprised, either," Klein said.
nestlé products recalled by the company
The Nestlé USA recall covers all varieties of prepackaged, refrigerated cookie dough but does not include Toll House chocolate chips or baking bars, or Dreyer's and Edy's ice cream products with Nestlé Toll House cookie dough ingredients.
Below are lists of products that have been recalled by the company:
COOKIE & BROWNIE DOUGH BAR
• Chocolate Chip bar, 16.5 ounces
• Chocolate Chunk bar, 16.5 ounces
• Walnut Chocolate Chip bar, 16.5 ounces
• Jumbo Chocolate Chip bar, 16.5 ounces
• Oatmeal Raisin bar, 16.5 ounces
• Sugar Cookies bar, 16.5 ounces
• Mini Chocolate Chip bar, 16.5 ounces
• Mini Brownie Bites bar, 16 ounces
• Fudgy Brownie With Peanut Butter Filling, 19 ounces
COOKIE DOUGH TUB
• Chocolate Chip tub, 40 ounces
• Chocolate Chip tub, 80 ounces
• Sugar tub, 40 ounces.
• Gingerbread tub, 40 ounces
• Peanut Butter tub, 40 ounces
TUBE DOUGH
• Chocolate Chip tube, 16.5 ounces
• Chocolate Chip tube, 32 ounces
ULTIMATES COOKIE BAR DOUGH
• Ultimates Peanut Butter Cups, Chips & Chocolate Chunks bar, 16 ounces
• Ultimates White Chip Macadamia Nut bar, 16 ounces
• Ultimates Chocolate Chip & Chunks with Pecans bar, 16 ounces
• Ultimates Chocolate Chip Lovers, 16 ounces
• Ultimates Turtles bar, 16 ounces
• Ultimates Peanut Butter Lovers bar, 16 ounces
• Ultimates Chocolate Chip with Caramel Filling bar, 16 ounces
• Ultimates Chocolate Chip with Chocolate Filling bar, 16 ounces
SEASONAL COOKIE & BROWNIE DOUGH
• Valentine Hearts Sugar Cookie Shapes, 15.5 ounces
• Valentine Swirled Chocolate Chip bar, 16 ounces
• Fudgy Brownies With Raspberry Filling, 19 ounces
• Easter Eggs Sugar Cookie Shapes 15.5, ounces
• Easter Swirled Chocolate Chip bar, 16 ounces
• Easter Swirled Mini Brownie Bites bar, 18 ounces
• Red, White & Blue Swirled Choc Chip bar, 16 ounces
• Halloween Pumpkin Pals Sugar Cookies, 13.5 ounces
• Halloween Swirled Chocolate Chip bar, 16 ounces
• Halloween Swirled Fudgy Brownies bar, 18 ounces
• Christmas Shapes Sugar Cookies, 15.5 ounces
• Christmas Swirled Chocolate Chip bar 16 ounces
• Christmas Swirled Fudgy Brownies bar, 18 ounces
• Limited Edition Mint Swirled Chocolate Chip, 16 ounces
DISCONTINUED VARIETIES
• Valentine Hearts Sugar Cookies, 13.5 ounces
• Easter Brownie Bar, 18 ounces
• Easter Bunnies Sugar Cookies, 13.5 ounces
• Halloween Sugar Shapes 15.5, ounces
• Christmas Sugar Cookie Tube, 16 ounces
• Oatmeal Cranberry Cookie Tub, 48 ounces
