(Mirror Daily, United States) – The Food and Drug Administration warned American citizens regarding the raw cookie dough and any other raw batters, as they can cause E. coli infection.

Besides the danger of raw eggs and salmonella, the FDA underlines that many E. coli cases were reported during the last few months because of the General Mills flour.

Scientists have finally established that the E. coli infection originates from animal poop. Animals and birds usually spread the bacteria as they roam through the wheat fields contaminating the grain with their infected feces.

According to Martin Wiedmann, food safety professor at Cornell University, experts have not found a treatment yet to wipe out the risk of E. coli bacteria in flour.

Despite the fact that wheat is processed into flour, not all pathogens are killed compared with the process of pasteurizing milk which is much more efficient in killing all bacteria. In other words, if people consume cookie dough, they might also ingest animal feces infected with the E. coli bacteria.

The FDA is less likely to cancel the warning regarding the E. coli threat in flour, even if General Mills recalled around ten million pounds of flour from three brands including Gold Medal Wondra, Signature Kitchen’s, and Gold Medal.

Food experts clearly stated that flour is not a product that can be labeled as ready to eat compared with fruits or crackers. In other words, every food made of flour must be properly cooked before being considered as safe to eat.

This rule applies to every cooking method. For example, many bacteria, including Listeria and the flesh-eating bacteria, known as Vibrio vulnificus, are killed if food is thoroughly cooked at high temperatures, not by boiling, steaming, or heating it in the microwaves.

Based on the statistics, 42 cases of E. coli infection have been reported until now in 21 states. Worse, 11 people needed to be hospitalized after a processing facility of General Mills from Kansas City, Missouri, was established as the outbreak leading source.

Experts stated that our best bet to prevent the E. coli infection is to wash hands after using dough and flour, and by thoroughly cooking food. Scientists established that this virus is a strain known as Shiga toxin-Escherichia coli.

Infected people usually experience symptoms such as diarrhea and abdominal cramps. People with weak immune systems, children under 5 years old, and seniors are more vulnerable to the cookie dough infection.

Image Source:Wikipedia