CDC Warns Against Eating Uncooked Eggs and Flour

Every kid and most adults still LOVE to lick the bowl after the cake mix or cookie dough is made, but according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that can be a very DANGEROUS thing to do!

According to a CDC report, there are 450 Salmonella related deaths every year with over 1.2 million related illnesses due to people eating raw eggs in some form. I remember watching Sylvester Stallone drinking raw eggs in Rocky and thinking, "That's GROSS!" But apparently there are a lot of people who think raw eggs are a super source of protein and are willing to take the risk of getting sick!

Cookie Dough Ice cream is still safe to eat though. The dough used has been heated up to the point of killing all of the germs but not enough to make the dough rise. So the next night you feel like drowning your sorrows in a tub of Ben and Jerry's, feel free!

The raw flour in most cake mix and cookie dough has also been linked to dozens of people getting sick because of E.Coli and other germs and bacteria.

A statement from the CDC advises the following:

“Do not taste or eat any raw dough or batter, whether for cookies, tortillas, pizza, biscuits, pancakes, or crafts made with raw flour, such as homemade play dough or holiday ornaments...Do not let children play with or eat raw dough, including dough for crafts...Keep raw foods such as flour or eggs separate from ready-to eat-foods. Because flour is a powder, it can spread easily...Follow label directions to refrigerate products containing raw dough or eggs until they are cooked. Clean up thoroughly after handling flour, eggs, or raw dough."

So the next time the kids ask if they can lick the bowl, tell them to wait until the cake is done!