Handle Foods Safely 
 
 FDA offers these tips for safe food handling to keep you and your family healthy: 
 
 Do not eat any raw cookie dough, cake mix, batter, or any other raw dough or batter product that is supposed to be cooked or baked. Do you eat at family restaurants that give kids raw dough to play with while you’re waiting for the food? Yesterday, the Food and Drug Administration issued a message warning people not to eat raw dough because of a recent outbreak of E. coli linked to contaminated flour . (Photo: General Mills) 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO — In a rare recall of baking and cooking flour, General Mills on Tuesday issued a recall of 10 million pounds of flour because of a possible link to an outbreak of E. coli that has sickened 38 people in 20 states since December. Some types of STEC frequently cause severe disease, including bloody diarrhea and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which is a type of kidney failure. The E. coli outbreak involves E. coli O121, a potentially deadly Shiga toxin-producing variant of the bacteria that can cause cramps, diarrhea that's sometimes bloody, vomiting and on occasion life-threatening complications, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Recalled flour: 
 
 - 13.5-ounce Gold Medal Wondra, UPC 000-16000-18980; Better if Used by Dates 25FEB2017 thru 30MAR2017 
 
 - 2-pound Gold Medal All Purpose Flour, UPC 000-16000-10710; Better if Used by Dates 25MAY2017KC thru 03JUN2017K 
 
 - 5-pound Gold Medal All Purpose Flour, UPC 000-16000-10610; Better if Used by Dates 25MAY2017KC, 27MAY2017KC thru 31MAY2017KC, 01JUN2017KC, 03JUN2017KC thru 05JUN2017KC, 11JUN2017KC thru 14JUN2017KC 
 
 - 10-pound Gold Medal All Purpose Flour, UPC 000-16000-10410; Better if Used by Dates 02JUN2017KC,03JUN2017KC 
 
 - 10-pound Gold Medal All Purpose Flour Banded Pack, UPC 000-16000-10410; Better if Used by Dates 03JUN2017KC, 04JUN2017KC, 05JUN2017KC 
 
 - 5-pound Gold Medal Unbleached Flour, UPC 000-16000-19610; Better if Used by Dates 25MAY2017KC, 27MAY2017KC, 03JUN2017KC, 04JUN2017KC 
 
 - 5-pound Signature Kitchens All Purpose Flour Enriched Bleached, UPC 000-21130-53001; Better if Used by Dates BB MAY 28 2017 
 
 - 5-pound Signature Kitchens Unbleached Flour All Purpose Enriched, UPC 000-21130-53022; Better if Used by Dates BB MAY 27 2017 
 
 - 2-pound Gold Medal Self Rising Flour, UPC 000-16000-11710; Better if Used by Dates 23AUG2016KC 
 
 Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1WXjuo5 Unlike other raw foods, like eggs or meat — which many people recognize as contamination risks — “flour is not the type of thing that we commonly associate with pathogens,” said Jenny Scott, a senior adviser in the F.D.A.’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. The most commonly identified STEC in North America is E. coli O157:H7 (often shortened to E. coli O157 or even just “O157”). “For the most part, the risk from flour is pretty low, and most use of flour involves a ‘kill step’ — people bake with it,” Ms. Scott said. The company reminded consumers to wash hands, work surfaces, and utensils thoroughly after contact with raw dough products or flour, and to never eat raw dough or batter. The agency notes in a message this week that parents should be wary of homemade "play" clays and doughs -- even if children don't eat it, the bacteria could be still be transmitted via their hands.
– The FDA's latest kill-joy for thousands of kids (and their parents) who like to lick the bowl: Don't eat it. And not because of the raw eggs, which can be tied to salmonella poisoning, the Huffington Post notes. This time the culprit is raw flour, which has been linked to an E. coli outbreak that's sickened at least 38 people in 20 states since December, USA Today reported last month. This particular strain of E. coli (O121) is a Shiga toxin-producing variety that can cause diarrhea, cramping, vomiting, and even death, per the CDC. The FDA warning even extends to parents who make homemade Play-Doh out of flour and water, as well as restaurants, schools, and daycare facilities that offer kids flour-based dough to play with, as the harmful bacteria can still be passed on by someone touching foods made with the flour. General Mills voluntarily recalled 10 million pounds of flour sold under the Gold Medal, Signature Kitchens, and Gold Medal Wondra names at the end of May (the FDA notes you should throw bags of these brands away), even though the agency says the danger could lurk in any brand. "Flour is derived from a grain that comes directly from the field and typically is not treated to kill bacteria," an FDA rep says—meaning bacteria "from a cow doing its business in the field" could end up being milled into flour, an Indianapolis infection specialist tells the New York Times. It's not common to see outbreaks of this sort linked to flour, a food safety lawyer told USA Today, noting the last time he could remember was a Nestle Toll House cookie dough recall in 2009. The FDA says if you've got to get your cookie dough fix, stick with commercially made ice creams that contain cookie dough chunks, as they're typically made with treated flour and pasteurized eggs. (A Slate columnist may have to give up her cookie dough habit.)