E. Coli Confirmed in Nestle Cookie Dough

(AP)  The Food and Drug Administration said Monday a sample of raw cookie dough collected at a Nestle USA manufacturing plant last week has tested positive for E. coli.

Nestle voluntarily recalled all Toll House refrigerated cookie dough products made at the Danville, Va., factory earlier this month after the FDA told Nestle it suspected consumers may have been exposed to E. coli bacteria after eating the dough raw.

The FDA and the federal Centers for Disease Control have been investigating whether the cookie dough was the source of the E. coli outbreak which has sickened 69 people in 29 states, according to the latest CDC data. E. coli is a potentially deadly germ that can cause bloody diarrhea, dehydration and, in the most severe cases, kidney failure.

The FDA says the sample of Toll House refrigerated prepackaged dough was manufactured at the plant on Feb. 10.

In a statement, Nestle said the sample that tested positive came from a 16-ounce Toll House refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough bar. The product had a "best before June 10 2009" label.

"We are very concerned about those who have become ill ... and deeply regret that this has occurred," the company said in the statement.

The company also reiterated that consumers can return the recalled products to their local grocer for a full refund.

FDA spokeswoman Stephanie Kwisnek says the FDA is working with the Glendale, Calif.-based unit of Switzerland-based Nestle SA to find the source of the contamination. Nestle said it will continue to work "closely and in full cooperation" with the investigation.

Besides the Toll House products, Nestle also makes a variety of refrigerated pastas and pasta sauces at the plant.

The company shut down production in the cookie dough section of the plant when it issued the recall. That section remains closed, but the company is still manufacturing the pasta and pasta sauces in a separate section of the plant.

[BENITO61]

YO TRABAJE 8 ANOS PARA NESTLE EN LA PLANTA DE BOISE,ID DONDE SE PROCESA LA BARRA ENERGETICA POWERBAR Y EN ESTA PLANTA LAS PERSONAS EN GENERAL CONOSEN LA PALABRA HIGIENE PERO NO SABEN EL SIGNIFICADO SOLO LIMPIAN LA PLANTA CUANDO VIENE LA FDA YO PERSONALMENTE LES PEDI QUE SE LAVARAN LAS MANOS ANTES DE IR AL AREA DE PRODUCSION Y TODOS SE NEGARON EL COMEDOR Y LOS BANOS SON LOS MAS COCHINOS QUE E VISTO EN MI VIDA Y EN UNA OCASION ENCONTRE UN ENPLEADO LAVANDOSE EL PENE EN EL LAVAMANOS Y ME DIJO QUE EN SU RELIGION SE ACOSTUMBRA ASERLO Y EN OTRA OCASION ENCONTRE AL SUPERVISOR DE PRODUCSION Y A UN INTERNO ESCONDIENDO LOS UNIFORMES COCHINOS Y EL SUPERVISOR ME DIJO QUE LO ESABA ASIENDO PORQUE UNOS VISITANTES IVAN EN ESA DIRECCION Y NO QUERIA QUE VIERAN LOS UNFORMES TIRADOS EN EL SUELO EN RESUMEN LO QUE QUIERO ES QUE EL MUNDO SE CUENTA QUE NESTLE NO PRACTICA LO QUE PREDISE

[BENITO61]

YO TRABAJE 8 ANOS PARA NESTLE EN LA PLANTA DE BOISE,ID DONDE SE PROCESA LA BARRA ENERGETICA POWERBAR Y EN ESTA PLANTA LAS PERSONAS EN GENERAL CONOSEN LA PALABRA HIGIENE PERO NO SABEN EL SIGNIFICADO SOLO LIMPIAN LA PLANTA CUANDO VIENE LA FDA YO PERSONALMENTE LES PEDI QUE SE LAVARAN LAS MANOS ANTES DE IR AL AREA DE PRODUCSION Y TODOS SE NEGARON EL COMEDOR Y LOS BANOS SON LOS MAS COCHINOS QUE E VISTO EN MI VIDA Y EN UNA OCASION ENCONTRE UN ENPLEADO LAVANDOSE EL PENE EN EL LAVAMANOS Y ME DIJO QUE EN SU RELIGION SE ACOSTUMBRA ASERLO Y EN OTRA OCASION ENCONTRE AL SUPERVISOR DE PRODUCSION Y A UN INTERNO ESCONDIENDO LOS UNIFORMES COCHINOS Y EL SUPERVISOR ME DIJO QUE LO ESABA ASIENDO PORQUE UNOS VISITANTES IVAN EN ESA DIRECCION Y NO QUERIA QUE VIERAN LOS UNFORMES TIRADOS EN EL SUELO EN RESUMEN LO QUE QUIERO ES QUE EL MUNDO SE CUENTA QUE NESTLE NO PRACTICA LO QUE PREDISE

[erasmus111]

by docpeter1953 June 30, 2009 5:24 AM PDT

Some people like raw cookie dough. Nothing wrong with preferring cookie dough raw. Ever heard of "Raw Cookie Dough" ice cream?


Ever heard of worms? : )

[dragyn30]

Maybe if the companies taught hygiene this would not happen.

To credibility 2 - You do not get e-coli from eating raw cookie dough - salmonella is possible because of raw eggs, but e-coli is related to fecal matter.

Sad to say I would wager that the workers are typically what you see in every other warehouse or factory, immigrant workers (legal and illegal) chugging away for minimum wage and they are no given instruction or training on hygiene and safe food handling. Look at where all the e-coli came from in produce last year!

[All_pols_need_2_go]

Any chance of getting a head count on how many illegal aliens they have working at the plant? IMO all these outbreaks in food and veggies is from dirty illegals that don't know what sanitation means. I work for a manufacturer and we have to test and approve EVERYTHING before it ever makes it into the product and nothing we make gets eaten!

[maxonhudson]

hey that's not a chocolate chip in you cookie

[gangesdak]

All the food companies need to teach their employees the basics- wash hands with soap after visiting the bathroom. Even in respectable settings, I have noticed highly educated professionals leave bathroom without washing their hands. Elemnetary, elementary! But who will teach these people? Parents! Who has parents these days!

[credibility2]

I hope they can trace the actual cause of the e-coli. It may be due to employees who weren't following proper hygiene. Also, it appears that in all of the cases of illness, that these individuals consumed the raw cookie dough to some extent, which is clearly marked on the packaging not to do. What is wrong with people that they do such stupid things like this? There was a good reason for not eating raw cookie dough. It's a sorry comment on how far our society has declined when individuals are too stupid to do the right thing, even when they're warned. Now, more than likely, these same morons will turn around and sue because it's all the fault of Nestle. No self-responsibility or accountability for one's actions; that would be so wrong for our nanny mentality.

[docpeter1953]

Nitwit.

Some people like raw cookie dough. Nothing wrong with preferring cookie dough raw. Ever heard of "Raw Cookie Dough" ice cream? If it weren't popular they wouldn't continue to produce it, would they?

[boiler_tech]

You won't ever find "Raw Cookie Dough" ice cream on the market. EVER! Cookie dough made for ice cream has been heated to kill pathogens before adding to ice cream because it is not to be cooked by consumers. And it's not really cookie dough (no need for leavening agents if you don't bake it).

[zonkzilla]

Nestle is a very responsible and good company.
I remember not too long ago Nestle found the tainted peanut butter through internal testing of their products long before the FDA ordered a recall from that third party processing plant and quit buying products from that company because Nestle inspectors said "it was nasty".
I still think these food contamination things are intentional acts of sabotage or terrorist acts.
I will be curious to see how the E-coli got into cookie dough since no animal products are used.

[docpeter1953]

try this scenario for how E. coli got into the dough:

infected employee goes to take a poop and doesn't wash his/her hands afterward, just goes straight back to work mixing dough ingredients.