Raw Flour and Raw Dough

Most flour is a raw agricultural product that has not been treated to kill germs. Raw flour, unbaked dough and batter can carry E. coli or Salmonella, so they should be fully cooked before eating.

  • Food safety
  • Home baking safety

Flour looks like a finished pantry staple, yet most of it is raw. It is milled from grain grown outdoors, and harmful germs such as E. coli and Salmonella can reach the grain in the field or the flour during milling. Grinding and bleaching do not kill them; baking or cooking does. That means unbaked cookie dough, cake batter and dry baking mixes carry the same risk as the flour inside them. Many doughs and batters also contain raw eggs, which can carry Salmonella. Some store-bought edible doughs use heat-treated flour and pasteurized eggs or no eggs, so check the label.

Raw flour has caused real outbreaks. FDA counts 168 known illnesses and 20 hospitalizations from outbreaks tied to raw flour or flour-containing products since 2009, and CDC has investigated outbreaks in 2016, 2019, 2021 and 2023. In 2019, E. coli O26 linked to flour sickened 21 people in 9 states and led to recalls of several brands. In 2023, Salmonella in all-purpose flour sickened 14 people in 13 states. Because flour and mixes have long shelf lives, recalled bags may still be sitting in pantries.

Key facts

Known illnesses since 2009 (FDA)
168, with 20 hospitalizations
2019 E. coli O26 outbreak
21 people sick in 9 states
2023 Salmonella Infantis outbreak
14 people sick in 13 states
What kills the germs
Baking or cooking at the recipe's time and temperature

In a bakery or commercial kitchen

  • Never hand out raw dough or batter for tasting, and keep children from eating or playing with it during classes
  • Use heat-treated flour and pasteurized eggs, or no eggs, in any product meant to be eaten unbaked, and label it clearly
  • Keep flour away from ready-to-eat foods, since a powder spreads easily across nearby surfaces
  • Wash hands, bowls, utensils and counters with hot, soapy water after working with flour and raw eggs
  • Check flour and mix lots against FDA recall notices and discard any recalled product

For home and cottage bakers

  • Don't taste raw cookie dough, cake batter or brownie batter, and never stir raw dough or cake mix into ice cream or shakes
  • Skip homemade play dough or craft dough made with raw flour for young children
  • Don't try to heat-treat flour at home; FDA warns home methods may not kill all bacteria
  • Refrigerate store-bought dough as the label directs and keep the refrigerator at 40°F

Related entries

Sources

Written by VanillaGoods in our own words from these sources. Last reviewed October 17, 2026.

  1. Raw Flour and Dough, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  2. Handling Flour Safely: What You Need to Know, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
  3. Flour Is a Raw Food and Other Safety Facts, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
  4. 2019 E. coli Outbreak Linked to Flour, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (archived page)
  5. Outbreak Investigation of Salmonella: Flour (April 2023), U.S. Food and Drug Administration