Flour Safety: Don’t Let E. coli become the Secret Ingredient in your Cake.
Earlier this month, we started to see information coming out about a foodborne illness outbreak from an unlikely source – flour. As of early-April, 12 people had fallen ill, and three people had been hospitalized as a result of flour contaminated with Salmonella. While the outbreak is still in its early stages, no individuals have died because of their illness. A specific source has not yet been identified in the outbreak, but all who have fallen ill have reported eating raw batter or dough due before developing symptoms – and flour has been identified as the only common ingredient in these batters and doughs.
Perhaps this isn’t a surprise if you pay attention to outbreaks and the foods implicated in those outbreaks. But for some of you it may come as a surprise. Who among us didn’t grow up begging mom for some cookie dough as she was making chocolate chip cookies?
Consuming raw cookie dough (or any dough or batter) has always been risky. I remember my mother warning my brother, sister, and I about the raw egg in the product. But, more and more, we are seeing evidence that consuming raw dough of any sort may very well be a terrible idea – especially for young children. While raw eggs are still a concern, the raw flour used in these products has become almost as problematic. Both E. Coli and Salmonella have been implicated in recent flour outbreaks. Between 2017 and 2022, there were appropriately 22 recalls involving flour.
… recent outbreaks help illustrate the reason why flour should be treated just as we would treat any potentially hazardous food product in our kitchens.
Contrary to the belief of many, raw flour is not a ready to eat food. In fact, Consumer Reports recently noted that flour was among the top 10 risky recalled foods. These recent outbreaks help illustrate the reason why flour should be treated just as we would treat any potentially hazardous food product in our kitchens.
I have received questions over the last several years about the causes of the flour outbreaks. Sure, most who have reached out know that E. Coli or Salmonella is the agent that caused the outbreak, but how did the flour become contaminated with these bacteria? While it is incredibly hard to say the exact method by which the flour was contaminated, it most likely occurred in the field. While most farmers make use of the best methods available to follow Good Agricultural Practices, it is always possible that wheat in the field could become contaminated when it comes into contact with animal feces, contaminated irrigation water, or run off from near-by pastures and fields. Once contaminated, the processing of flour does not normally include a pathogen reduction step, such as heat treating, to kill the bacteria so it is easy to see how the contaminated flour may find its way into your kitchen.
So, what can you do to protect your guests and your business? Treat flour like it is potentially hazard food because it really is! If you run a bakery or make bakery products in your operation, be sure to sanitize the work surfaces before and after using it. Eliminate cross contamination just as you would do with a meat or poultry product. Don’t allow employees to eat raw dough or batters, and make sure you don’t have any recipes (such as truffles, icing, or cookies) which involve flour but no kill step before serving. Last, don’t serve raw cookie dough in ice creams or other desserts without making sure that the product is an edible cookie dough made with heat-treated flour and pasteurized or no eggs. Risk Nothing.
Food Safety Considerations for the “New Way” of Dining, Part II – Back-of-house
In our first blog this month, we discussed the importance of front-of-house practices as we emerge from the pandemic this summer and into fall. Making your guests feel safe will be an important point as we welcome them back to our establishment. The safer they feel, the more likely they are to revisit and this could, in turn, be a competitive advantage for your business.
Food Safety Considerations for the “New Way” of Dining
Spring is my favorite time of year, as we head out of the winter months, welcome warmer weather, and increase the daylight hours. As such, we turnover a new leaf and welcome new life as our grass, trees, and perennials come out of dormancy. This year as the Coronavirus vaccine continues its roll out and we welcome a third vaccine onto the market this morning, perhaps this spring we are turning over a ‘new leaf’ in a much more profound way, as we see light at the end of the Coronavirus tunnel.
Developing Good Food Safety Habits
Good habits and habit development are something that has fascinated me for several years. If you’ve attended any the training programs or presentations that my colleagues and I have conducted through our Center for Food Safety in Child Nutrition Programs, you’ve likely heard me opine about the importance of habits and how habits are created. Many times, in foodservice operations we wonder why our staff don’t follow the food safety practices we have established in our operation. Perhaps they don’t wash their hands when they are required, perhaps they just don’t use the proper method of handwashing, or perhaps we find that they don’t complete our HACCP logs as often as our program dictates should occur. And while we can stomp our feet and say “it is their job, they should just do it”, it really isn’t that simple. We can’t order people to change, although if we could, business and human resources would be so much simpler.
Getting Your Playbook for Food Safety Organized
As anyone who has ever worked in a foodservice operation knows, from the time food is received in your establishment to the time it is served to your customers, following proper food safety practices is crucial. What many don’t often think about is this time really should extend from the time the manager places their orders with their suppliers (including which purveyors you utilize), through the time the food is consumed – even if that consumption occurs off your premises and days after the original order was picked up by the guest. This is something that has certainly been highlighted by the pandemic as customers across the nation are utilizing take-out, curbside to go, and third-party delivery options more so now than ever before.
