80 Illnesses in Nestle Cookie Dough Outbreak
By Kathy Will
Federal E. coli investigators are still warning consumers not to eat Nestle cookie dough products unless the packages are printed with the emblem “New Batch.”
In its fifth and final update on the major Nestle cookie dough outbreak, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 80 inviduals in 31 states contracted the same strain of E. coli O157:H7. Most of the victims said they ate Nestle Toll House cookie dough — uncooked — before they fell ill.
According to the CDC, 35 outbreak victims were hospitalized and 10 developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a severe complication that attacks red blood cells and damages a person’s kidneys and other internal body parts. While there have been no deaths in this outbreak, E. coli O157:H7 infections can be life-threatening to young children, the elderly and other people who have weakened immune systems.
There has been no microbiological smoking gun in the Nestle outbreak because a positive E. coli O157:H7 test result in a package of dough seized by investigators at the Nestle plant in Danville, Virginia, did not match the molecular fingerprint of the outbreak strain. But there is a strong epidemiological connection between the illnesses and prior consumption of raw cookie dough.
National food poisoning law firm Pritzker Olsen is currently representing E. coli victims, including some who developed HUS. If you or a loved one are among those who have a confirmed case of E. coli, or if you have recently become ill with symptoms of E. coli after eating old Nestle cookie dough, contact us at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free). To receive a free case consultation via the Internet,
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