Cookie bakers shouldn’t nibble on raw cookie dough these days: there should be disease-causing bacteria in the flour. They could cause severe intestinal inflammation.
Berlin – Food inspectors have detected pathogenic bacteria in wheat flour.
In 22 of a total of 242 examined samples from milling operations (a good 9 percent) they detected so-called STEC bacteria last year, as the Federal Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) announced. These can cause severe intestinal inflammation. Possible germs would be killed during baking – so nibbling finished biscuits is no problem.
Bacteria can cause bowel inflammation
E. coli bacteria are part of the healthy intestinal flora in humans and animals. STEC bacteria – E. coli bacteria that produce Shiga toxin – are pathogenic variants of E. coli bacteria. They are characterized by a number of special properties, including the eponymous ability to form a certain toxin. If the bacteria get into the body, they can trigger an intestinal inflammation, which can be severe. Older or immunocompromised people and small children are particularly at risk, it said. With them, an infection can lead to hemolytic uremic syndrome, which is often associated with acute kidney failure, as the BVL explains.
Do not eat dough raw
“If possible, do not eat biscuit or cookie dough raw,” said BVL President Friedel Cramer. “Possible STEC bacteria in the flour are only killed when the oven is fully heated; You shouldn’t let your children snack beforehand. ”In addition, good kitchen hygiene should be observed in order to prevent the pathogen from being transmitted to other foods.
In total, the supervisory authorities of the federal states checked almost 369,000 establishments and almost 597,000 products in 2020. dpa
