The holidays are now upon us which for many means spending more time than usual in the kitchen whipping up baked goods for friends and family. And if you're like 90% of people this also means consuming way more raw cookie batter than you probably should. #YOLO
Before you go ham on the cookie dough, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention is urging that you actually do go ham at all.
Dr. Todd Ellerin, the Director of Infectious Diseases at South Shore Hospital in Weymouth, Massachusetts says,
"People may not be aware that flour is not treated to destroy bacteria and there have been outbreaks of a certain type of E. coli linked to the ingestion of raw dough. In 2016, an outbreak of E. coli infections linked to raw flour made 63 people sick."
Another risk you run when consuming the raw dough is contacting a germ called salmonella. Symptoms of salmonella include diarrhea, fever, and severe abdominal cramps.
So you have been warned, but then again cookie dough goodness... #YOLO.