Salmonella Outbreak in Illinois Because of Flour & Eating Raw Cookie Dough

There's quite a bit of cookie making going on at my house, this doesn't make me happy! There's a Salmonella outbreak in Illinois because of flour...and people eating RAW cookie dough with that flour. NBCChicago

So "flour" is a raw food? Doesn't seem like it is, but it is.

"This means that it hasn’t been treated to kill germs that cause food poisoning. Any raw (unbaked) flour used to make dough or batter can be contaminated with germs like Salmonella, but Salmonella germs are killed when flour is cooked or baked." - CDC

Here are the flour outbreak states: California, Oregon, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Ohio, New York, Virginia and Tennessee. But the difference is, in Illinois multiple people have been sickened by this.

The majority of these people getting sick, did so after eating raw cookie dough or batter that has the flour in it.

"Investigators are working to identify a specific brand of flour linked to illnesses." - CDC

If you are suffering from "Salmonella Symptoms," here is what you will deal with:

• Diarrhea
• Fever
• Stomach Cramps

Usually there are symptoms you are having to deal with in around 4 to 6 hours after consuming the raw flour. Plus this is gonna stick with you for 4 to 7 days.

Here are the totals so far with this outbreak:

• Illnesses: 12
• Hospitalizations: 3
• Deaths: 0
• States: 11

So make sure if you are making cookies, that you keep a spoon out of the bowl...unless you are scooping it onto the pan to BAKE.