Food Safety Alert: Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Cookies

Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Cookie Dough

Fast Facts Illnesses: 18 Hospitalizations: 2 Deaths: 0 States: 6 Recall: No Investigation status: Active

Contaminated Food - Chocolate chip cookie dough - S'mores bars dough

Nine sick people reported eating raw cookie dough from Papa Murphy's Take 'N' Bake Pizza in the week before they got sick. Based on this information, Papa Murphy's has temporarily stopped selling their raw chocolate chip cookie dough and raw S'mores bars dough.

At least two sick people did not eat at Papa Murphy's. Investigators are working to identify the contaminated ingredient in the raw cookie dough.

What You Should Do - Check your refrigerator and freezer for Papa Murphy's chocolate chip cookie dough or S'mores bars dough. - Throw the dough away, even if you didn't get sick after eating some of it. - Wash items and surfaces that may have touched the dough using hot soapy water or a dishwasher. - Always follow cookie dough baking instructions in the recipe or on the package label.

Papa Murphy's chocolate chip cookie dough and S'mores bars dough are not meant to be eaten raw. Most raw cookie dough is made with unpasteurized eggs or raw flour and can have germs like Salmonella and E. coli.

Some other companies make edible cookie dough that does not have to be baked. These products are made with heat-treated flour and pasteurized eggs or no eggs. Read the label carefully to make sure the dough is meant to be eaten without baking or cooking.

Call a healthcare provider if you have any of these severe Salmonella symptoms: - Diarrhea and a fever higher than 102?F - Diarrhea for more than 3 days that is not improving - Bloody diarrhea - So much vomiting that you cannot keep liquids down

Signs of dehydration, such as: - Not peeing much - Dry mouth and throat - Feeling dizzy when standing up

Symptoms of Salmonella - Most people infected with Salmonella experience diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps. - Symptoms usually start 6 hours to 6 days after swallowing the bacteria. - Most people recover without treatment after 4 to 7 days. - Some people--especially children younger than 5 years, adults 65 years and older, and people with weakened immune systems--may experience more severe illnesses that require medical treatment or hospitalization.