Nestle Toll House refrigerated cookie dough may be contaminated with a toxin-producing form of E. coli bacteria, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning.
The agency also has issued a warning that pistachios possibly contaminated with Salmonella have been repackaged and distributed to hotels and airports nationwide (see related story).
Anyone with any of the prepackaged cookie dough in their home should throw it away, an agency spokesman said, adding “cooking the dough is not recommended because consumers might get the bacteria on their hands and on other cooking surfaces.”
The dough may be contaminated with E. coli 0157:H7, which produces a toxin that causes abdominal cramping, vomiting and diarrhea. A complication called Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome can develop in some people, leading to kidney damage or even death.
An investigation by the FDA and U.S. Centers for Disease Control found 66 people in several states have reported getting sick from the cookie dough, and seven have developed HUS.
The FDA advised anyone who’s eaten the Nestle cookie dough and developed symptoms listed above to contact their doctor immediately.
Nestle Toll House regrigerated cookie dough is available at stores in Texas and nationwide. The FDA has asked store and restaurant owners not to sell or serve it.
Nestle is cooperating in the investigation, and says on its web site that people with the dough should return it to the store at which it was purchased, for a refund.


By: Bob Dunn on Tue, Jun 23, 2009
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