NEWS UPDATE: Health officials continue to investigate the E. coli O157:H7 outbreak attributed to Nestle Toll House cookie dough. Our original article on the outbreak can be found here.
Current cookie dough outbreak statistics
Current estimates place the number of illnesses with an identical E. coli O157:H7 DNA fingerprint at 74 in 32 states. At least 32 persons have required hospitalization, and 10 persons have contracted hemolytic uremic syndrome. No deaths have been reported. Illness onsets began on March 16, 2009, with 72% of the victims being female. Ages of ill persons range from 2 to 65 years old.
Two positive E. coli samples found in finished in finished Nestle cookie dough product
Two product samples have tested positive for E. coli: an unopened 16.5 oz. Nestle Toll House refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough sample taken from Nestle’s Danville plant, and another sample taken from the home of an E. coli patient. Oddly, both samples tested positive for a different strain of E. coli than that implicated in the recent national outbreak.
So how did E. coli get into the cookie dough?
Good question. Unfortunately, the FDA has no answer – yet.
Typically, E. coli O157:H7 is found in beef or leafy green products (products typically exposed to animal feces on the farm or in the slaughterhouse). But E. coli has never been associated with cookie dough.
Neither beef nor leafy greens are ingredients found in cookie dough. So where did the E. coli come from? It is possible that contamination occurred at Nestle’s cookie dough plant in Danville, Virginia – which is exactly where the FDA first began to look. Over 1000 samples were taken from all over the plant, but none have thus far tested positive for E. coli.
FDA investigators also examined the food surfaces, machinery, storerooms, and other areas of the plant for clues as to where the contamination could have occurred. The investigation – the results of which are codified in what is called a “483 Report” – revealed two potential sources of contamination due to unsanitary conditions:
1. Workmanship of equipment did not provide for proper cleaning – food contact surfaces on gate valves to food hoppers could not be cleaned easily.
2. Manufacturing systems were not maintained in appropriate sanitary condition – drippings from ice condensate were found on tools used to scrape cookie dough from mixer onto the dough tray.
Neither were considered the cause of the outbreak.
While the FDA has now wrapped up its investigation of the Danville plant, inspectors are still searching for an explanation of how any E. coli got into the dough. “The investigation is winding up. It is not exactly over yet,” said Dr. David Acheson, the assistant commissioner for food safety. “But we have not figured out the likely ingredient.”
Dr. Acheson said FDA investigators at one time suspected wheat flour as a “plausible” source of the E. coli contamination because wheat flour is a raw agricultural ingredient that could be contaminated by wild animals such as deer. Investigators, however, didn’t find E. coli at Nestle’s flour. The dough also could have been cross-contaminated if it were next to a processing line for raw product, Dr. Acheson said. But production lines at Nestle’s Danville plant are separated.
In fact, Acheson said, investigators may have exhausted all of their leads. “We’ve followed everything that we think is most likely and haven’t come up with anything,” Acheson said. “It is unlikely that we will ever make a final determination of how this contamination occurred.” The FDA does not, however, believe this was a case of product tampering. “There’s no indication that this was deliberate,” Acheson said.
So if it was not found in the ingredients, the machinery, or food surfaces – what is left? Perhaps cross-contamination from the plant’s water source or sewage system? Just a guess – the 483 report does not mention either.
Nestle has resumed cookie dough production
Nestle spokeswoman Laurie MacDonald has stated that the company dismantled its entire production line, inspected and cleaned all the parts, and reassembled them. She said Nestle has also discarded all ingredients that had been stockpiled and replaced them with new flour, eggs, margarine and other items. Nestle has now restarted production of its cookie dough products.
McDonald assured reporters that before any ingredient goes into cookie dough in the future, it will undergo “very extensive pretesting.”
About E. coli
E. coli can cause abdominal cramping, vomiting, nausea, and bloody diarrhea in consumers who eat food or drink water contaminated with the bacteria. Symptoms are most often mild to moderate, but in some cases, infection can reach the blood stream and cause potentially life-threatening complications, including kidney failure or hemolytic uremic syndrome. The frail or elderly, young children, and people with weakened immune systems are most at risk of severe problems from E. coli poisoning . For more information on E. coli and its symptoms and complications, click here.
Simon & Luke pursuing E. coli cases
The E. coli lawyers at Simon & Luke are actively pursuing claims on behalf of victims of this and other E. coli outbreaks. Several client samples remain to be tested. We will continue to update you as this outbreak develops. In the meantime, should you have any questions, please contact us toll free at 1-888-335-4901.
