1 00:00:02,640 --> 00:00:05,160 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:09,719 Speaker 1: Hey brain Stuff, I'm Lauren vogel Bomb, and this is 3 00:00:09,760 --> 00:00:13,720 Speaker 1: another classic episode from our archives. Baking is an excellent 4 00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:16,560 Speaker 1: way to spend time at home, but as tempting as 5 00:00:16,560 --> 00:00:19,400 Speaker 1: it can be, do try to avoid eating raw dough. 6 00:00:20,040 --> 00:00:25,599 Speaker 1: I'll let former Lauren explain. Hi, brain Stuff, Lauren vogel Bomb. Here. 7 00:00:25,840 --> 00:00:28,320 Speaker 1: Everyone has that one friend, you know, the kill joy 8 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:31,920 Speaker 1: who can't help attaint a perfectly pleasant conversation with an unsolicited, 9 00:00:32,120 --> 00:00:36,360 Speaker 1: soul crushing truth bomb. Apologies are in order. This episode 10 00:00:36,400 --> 00:00:38,479 Speaker 1: is about to be the kill joy of your podcast 11 00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:42,280 Speaker 1: stream today. That's because, amidst the cheer and anticipation of 12 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:45,640 Speaker 1: the holiday season, something truly disturbing has come to our attention, 13 00:00:45,680 --> 00:00:50,040 Speaker 1: and it involves a wintertime staple, raw cookie dough. According 14 00:00:50,040 --> 00:00:52,000 Speaker 1: to a new study published in the New England Journal 15 00:00:52,080 --> 00:00:55,240 Speaker 1: of Medicine, eating raw foods made with flour a k 16 00:00:55,400 --> 00:00:59,040 Speaker 1: A delicious unbaked goods like cookies, could make you dangerously sick. 17 00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:01,840 Speaker 1: Well he experts have long known that a type of E. 18 00:01:01,960 --> 00:01:05,480 Speaker 1: Coli bacteria commonly reside in wet environments like leafy vegetables 19 00:01:05,520 --> 00:01:08,119 Speaker 1: and raw meat. The study confirms that the same type 20 00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:11,200 Speaker 1: of bacteria can lurk in dry habitats like flower too. 21 00:01:11,959 --> 00:01:14,800 Speaker 1: The study covers the details that led to a recall 22 00:01:14,920 --> 00:01:18,200 Speaker 1: of more than ten million pounds of flour that's about 23 00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:21,560 Speaker 1: four thousand, five hundred metric tons, and of two and 24 00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:26,959 Speaker 1: fifty potentially contaminated raw flower based products in A United 25 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:30,720 Speaker 1: States Food and Drug Administration investigation determined that raw dough 26 00:01:30,920 --> 00:01:34,200 Speaker 1: made using General Mills flour produced on some dates between 27 00:01:34,280 --> 00:01:39,760 Speaker 1: November and February was tainted. A statement from the FDA 28 00:01:39,920 --> 00:01:42,680 Speaker 1: said flower has a long shelf life and bags of 29 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:45,319 Speaker 1: flower may be kept in people's homes for a long time. 30 00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:48,440 Speaker 1: Consumers unaware of the recall could continue to eat these 31 00:01:48,480 --> 00:01:52,120 Speaker 1: recalled flowers and potentially get sick. If consumers have any 32 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:54,720 Speaker 1: of these recalled flowers in their homes, they should throw 33 00:01:54,760 --> 00:01:58,680 Speaker 1: such flower products away. The studies authors say they're not 34 00:01:58,720 --> 00:02:01,320 Speaker 1: trying to ruin people's holidays. They just don't want anyone 35 00:02:01,360 --> 00:02:04,160 Speaker 1: to get sick, and consuming even a small amount of 36 00:02:04,240 --> 00:02:06,480 Speaker 1: raw flour from these tainted batches could lead to a 37 00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:09,560 Speaker 1: pretty unpleasant bout of illness. More than a quarter of 38 00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:13,280 Speaker 1: the fifty six patients affected across twenty four states were hospitalized, 39 00:02:13,480 --> 00:02:17,359 Speaker 1: and some of their symptoms included mild fever, abdominal pain, vomiting, 40 00:02:17,440 --> 00:02:21,519 Speaker 1: and so sorry, bloody diarrhea, though all the patients raging 41 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:26,560 Speaker 1: in age from one years eventually recovered. If cautionary tales 42 00:02:26,560 --> 00:02:29,320 Speaker 1: around raw cookie does sound familiar, it's probably because the 43 00:02:29,320 --> 00:02:32,120 Speaker 1: consumption of raw eggs and another key ingredient has long 44 00:02:32,160 --> 00:02:35,760 Speaker 1: been known to carry risks. A General Mills spokesperson encouraged 45 00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:38,840 Speaker 1: consumers to continue avoiding raw batter in the future because 46 00:02:38,880 --> 00:02:43,079 Speaker 1: flour can't be heat treated to prevent contamination and potential outbreaks, 47 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:46,840 Speaker 1: not without impacting its performance. The takeaway here you can 48 00:02:46,880 --> 00:02:54,760 Speaker 1: still have your cookies, just spake them too. Today's episode 49 00:02:54,760 --> 00:02:57,760 Speaker 1: was written by Michelle Konstantinowski and produced by Tristan Nil 50 00:02:57,840 --> 00:03:00,480 Speaker 1: and Tyler flang Her. More on this lots of other 51 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:03,800 Speaker 1: chewy topics, visit how stuff works dot com. Brain Stuff 52 00:03:03,840 --> 00:03:06,079 Speaker 1: is a production of I Heart Radio or more podcasts. 53 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:09,080 Speaker 1: My heart Radio visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 54 00:03:09,160 --> 00:03:10,960 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.