E. coli in Flour and Cookie Dough Addressed at Food Protection Conference
At this year’s annual meeting of the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) in Anaheim, California, several presentations address the issue of E. coli contamination in refrigerated cookie dough and the flour used to make it.
One presentation, “Flour Food Safety: The Changing Landscape — Escherichia coli O157:H7,” was given by representatives from Cargill, Nestle and ConAgra and outlined how the industry is reexamining flour as a potential source for E. coli contamination in food. The importance of this issue is highlighted by last year’s E. coli outbreak associated with Nestle Tollhouse raw cookie dough that sickened roughly 75 people in multiple states. According to and IAFP summary of the presentation:
“Flour has been viewed as a raw agricultural product for years; but with a recent outbreak involving consumption of an uncooked product containing flour, regulators and industry are re-examining whether flour should be treated as a RTE ingredient in some foods that may be consumed uncooked by the consumer. This mini-symposium will examine the history of flour and what industry knows about the microbiology of this product during production, harvesting and milling; the regulatory perceptions of flour as a potential vehicle of pathogens; the transformation of microbiological criteria associated with flour and the verification testing required to gauge compliance with the new criteria; and one solution available to deliver RTE flour as an ingredient.”
Another piece of research included at the conference comes from researchers at the Silliker, Inc., Food Science Center in South Holland, Illinois, and focuses on validating testing methodologies for raw cookie dough and its ingredients.
Nestle’s Culpability in Cookie Dough Outbreak
By Fred Pritzker
The Nestle recall of cookie dough — some 300,000 cases of its Toll House brand in all varieties — occurred on June 19. That same day, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned consumers not to eat the product due to the risk of contamination with E. coli O157:H7, a bacterium that causes foodborne illness.
Ten days later, the FDA announced that E. coli O157:H7 was found in an unopened packaged of Toll House chocolate chip cookie bar dough. A finding of a potentially lethal adulterant in an unopened package is usually proof positive that the adulteration occurred before the product left the manufacturing plant — not “downstream” contamination caused by a distributor or retailer or end user. This means the contamination occurred at the point of production at the Nestle plant in Danville, Virginia, or in ingredients puchased by Nestle to make the dough.
Here’s where it gets interesting: On July 9, the FDA announced that the postive E. coli test on the unopened package did not match the strain of E. coli O157:H7 common in victims of the Nestle cookie dough outbreak. In short, Nestle was making cookie dough with at least two separate strains of E. coli O157:H7.
And here’s where it gets even more interesting: When FDA inspectors descended on the Nestle plant after the outbreak was announced, no traces of E. coli were found in a week of swabbing more than 1,000 plant environmental surfaces.
The failure to find E. coli at Nestle’s cookie dough plant in Danville doesn’t exonerate the firm from a legal standpoint. It’s entirely possible — even likely — that the plant received a top-to-bottom cleaning before FDA inspectors arrived at the scene. What’s more, the product implicated in this outbreak was produced in early February, long before the inspection. In short, the inspection merely captures a moment in time and not the critical moment when the contaminated product was made.
It is also entirely possible that the contamination was introduced to the plant via ingredients. In that case, the outbreak was caused by “upstream” contamination due to the negligence of a Nestle supplier. That, too, hardly exonerates Nestle.
That’s because a food producer has a non-delegable duty to guarantee the safety of its ingredients as well as its finished product. This is accomplished in a number of ways, including rigorous inspection of all suppliers and testing of raw constituent product.
Pritzker Olsen is representing several people sickened in the Nestle cookie dough outbreak and is continuing to accept new cases from the outbreak, which has sickened at least 72 individuals in 30 states. Ten of the patients have developed HUS, or hemolytic uremic syndrome, a severe complication that can develop in anyone but is most common in children under five and the elderly. ly
To contact the writer, Fred Pritzker, call 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free), or write to him online for a free case consultation using our consultation form.
Cookie dough outbreak tied to 3 types of E. coli
By Kathy Will
ABC News reporter Brian Hartman found sources inside the Nestle cookie dough outbreak investigation who say three types of E. coli have now been associated with the E. coli O157:H7 outbreak that has sickened at least 72 people in 30 states.
The sources told Hartman that final test results on a previously unopened package of Toll House chocolate chip cookie dough found at Nestle’s primary dough plant in Danville, Virginia, showed a strain of E. coli that did not match the outbreak strain. The result had been similar for E. coli testing of Nestle cookie dough found in the home of a victim of the outbreak. The results indicate that Nestle cookie dough was associated with three different types of E. coli — including the outbreak strain of E. coli found in victims who said they ate raw Nestle cookie dough before getting sick.
Answers To Nestle Cookie Dough FAQs
By Fred Pritzker
People who think they may have been sickened by a foodborne pathogen often wonder how they can prove the organism they swallowed came from a contaminated source. Such is case currently in the Nestle cookie dough E. coli outbreak, where many people may have become sick but weren’t asked by their doctor to give a stool sample.If it’s too late to give a stool sample, how then, do you prove your illness is caused by this outbreak? Testing your unused or leftover cookie dough may be the answer.
The following FAQs are provided by national food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen Attorneys.
Cookie dough FAQs:
I got sick after eating Nestlé Toll House cookie dough. Am I
part of the E. coli O157:H7 outbreak?
The best way to determine if you are part of the Nestlé Toll House
outbreak is to have your stool tested. If the stool test is positive
for E. coli O157:H7, further testing is necessary to determine if the
E. coli O157:H7 found in your stool matches the genetic fingerprint
of the samples obtained from other outbreak victims. If your stool
sample is positive for E. coli O157:H7 and it has the same genetic
fingerprint as the other victims, it is highly likely that you are
part of this outbreak.
I got sick but I was not asked to provide a stool sample. How
do I prove I was part of this outbreak?
There are many reasons why people with E. coli O157:H7 are not asked
to provide a stool sample. The problem is that without a positive
stool sample, it’s difficult to say what’s causing your symptoms.
That’s because there are many illnesses and conditions that produce
symptoms similar to E. coli O157:H7. Thus, the best evidence that you
have E. coli O157:H7 is a positive stool sample. However, and as
discussed below, in some cases it is possible to link undiagnosed
symptoms if you have leftover cookie dough that tests positive for E.
coli O157:H7.
I still have some of the Nestlé Toll House Cookie Dough. If
it’s tested and the testing shows it’s contaminated with E. coli
O157:H7, does that mean I have a case even if I did not give a stool
sample?
Under some circumstances, a product that tests positive for E. coli
O157:H7 can help prove you are part of this outbreak even if you did
not provide a stool sample.
Where can I have the Nestlé Toll House Cookie Dough tested to
see if it’s contaminated with E. coli O157:H7?
There are labs that will test your cookie dough for you. You may
contact Exova in Portland, Oregon, at 503-253-9136 for testing your
product . You may also contact Accugen
Labs in Willow Brook, IL at 1-800-282-7102, or fill out an Accugen submission form. Either
of these laboratories will have you fill out a form to send with your
product. Please note that our law firm is not affiliated with these
labs and we have no contact with or control over them regarding food
testing. Thus, we can accept no responsibility for anything regarding
product testing by these labs including but not limited to lost
samples, the manner in which the testing is performed, test results,
etc.
Make sure you are clear that you want your product tested for E. coli O157:H7.
How much does it cost and who pays for it?
Testing will cost about $35-50 depending on how many tests need to be
performed. You will have to pay that cost via check or credit card
when you ship your product. If tests show the food is adulterated
with E. coli O157:H7 and we accept your case and later obtain a
recovery on your behalf, you will be reimbursed for all testing costs.
How do I get a sample of Nestlé Toll House Cookie Dough and
send it to the testing company?
Products are generally sent in a sealed plastic bag, with an ice pack
to keep your product relatively cold via FedEx overnight service.
When you fill out your shipping form, the lab can assist in choosing
the proper packaging, but anything that is sealed, and keeps the
product cool will most likely work.
How long does it take to find out if the sample is positive?
Results will generally be available in 2-5 days. If your product is
positive for E. coli O157:H7, further tests on your product may be
necessary to confirm this result, and to determine the exact strain of
E. coli O157:H7.
If the sample is positive, what do I do then?
Immediately contact an E. coli attorney at Pritzker Olsen at
1-888-377-8900. Further testing on your product may be necessary.
