This Is How Safe It Really Is To Eat Raw Cookie Dough

If you've ever baked cookies from scratch, you know how tempting it can be to sneak a few spoonfuls of raw cookie dough. Despite its great sugar-filled taste, however, it's actually not safe to eat. This is because consuming raw eggs and uncooked flour can cause food poisoning.

While eggs are usually washed and heat-sterilized before they're sold at the grocery store, it's still possible for Salmonella bacteria to remain on the shell (via Healthline). Consuming eggs contaminated with Salmonella can cause Salmonella infection, the symptoms of which include fever, diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach cramps. Salmonella infection can last for as long as seven days.

Eating uncooked flour can also make you ill. Since flour is not sterilized before it is sold, it is more likely to be contaminated with bacteria like E. coli. E. coli poisoning can cause vomiting, stomach cramps, and diarrhea and can last anywhere between four and seven days.

Raw cookie dough may be unsafe to eat, but that doesn't mean you can't still find a way to safely enjoy this tasty treat. Brands like Unbaked and Edoughble make edible cookie dough, which has the same great taste without any of the potentially harmful bacteria (via Health). Edible cookie dough is made with heat-sterilized flour and either pasteurized egg products or no eggs at all, making it perfectly safe to eat.

You can also make your own at home. The easiest and safest way to make edible cookie dough is to use an eggless and flourless dough. However, if you still want to use flour, you can heat-sterilize it by pouring the desired amount on a cookie sheet and baking it for 5 minutes at 350 degrees. This will ensure that your cookie dough is free of any dangerous bacteria.

With edible cookie dough around, there's no need to risk getting food poisoning by consuming raw flour and eggs.