Cookie dough new cause for concern

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Add Nestlé brand raw cookie dough to the laundry list of foods recalled in recent months after being linked to E. coli infections. On Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reported 66 cases purportedly stemming from the refrigerated product spanning 28 states, including a handful in Minnesota. Semi-alarmingly, the NYT points out that the risk of illness has expanded from the usual suspects:

"The increasingly disparate nature of contaminated foods -- recently including pistachios, peanut butter and chicken pot pies -- has complicated the task of illness hunters and food inspectors because no one is sure anymore which foods may be risky.

"'You can't assume it's the usual ground beef or fresh produce,' said Dr. David Acheson, associate commissioner for foods at the Food and Drug Administration."

There's really no reason to forego cookie dough though. The Washington Post has a novel suggestion.