The CDC is harping on us again to stop eating raw cookie dough. At least three people have been hospitalized from a salmonella outbreak linked to flour, so that's why.
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Most people don't think of flour as something that would cause food poisoning. But "Consumer Reports" just ranked the top ten foods that do, and flour is #10.
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1. Bagged salad and other leafy greens. They found 50 different recalls linked to them since 2017. They also caused the most deaths.
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2. Deli cheese and meat.
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3. Ground beef.
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4. Onions.
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5. Turkey.
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6. Chicken.
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7. Papayas.
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8. Peaches.
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9. Cantaloupe.
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10. Flour.
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So why can flour be risky? Because like most of the stuff on the list, it's raw and uncooked.
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Wheat sometimes gets exposed to animal droppings while it grows, and turning it into flour doesn't kill the bacteria.
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Cooking it is the only way to make sure you kill it. That's why you're not supposed to eat raw cookie dough, or lick the spoon when you make brownies.
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A lot of dough like that has eggs too. They didn't make the Top 10, but they can also have salmonella.
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