Feds Confirm E. Coli in Cookie Dough

The FDA has confirmed the presence of E. coli in cookie dough from Nestle's Virginia plant, reports the Washington Post. The plant's refrigerated cookie dough was the prime suspect in an outbreak of E. coli-related illness that sickened 69 people in 29 states. But investigators remain confounded as to how the bacteria, commonly found in cow intestines, ended up in cookie dough.

Investigators say the bacteria was found in a batch of the raw dough rather than on equipment, making it likely the contamination came from one of the ingredients—none of which are currently known to host E. coli. The finding "means that industry has to be constantly vigilant, because foods we think of as low risk could be contaminated with a deadly pathogen," said an FDA commissioner.
(More toll house cookies stories.)