The desire to sneak a spoonful of raw cookie dough while baking is a common impulse, but the concern about it being unsafe is well-founded. The direct answer to whether you can get worms from eating it is no. However, raw cookie dough contains ingredients that carry potentially life-threatening bacterial contaminants. The danger lies in the two main raw components of most dough recipes, which can harbor pathogens capable of causing severe foodborne illness.
Dismissing the Parasite Myth
The fear of contracting a parasitic infection, often referred to as “worms,” from raw cookie dough is a misconception that can be definitively dismissed. Parasitic infections in humans are typically transmitted through the consumption of undercooked meat, contaminated water, or soil. Cookie dough ingredients are not the type of biological material that harbors human parasites. The components of flour, sugar, and eggs do not create an environment conducive to the survival or transmission of these larger organisms. The actual danger present in raw dough involves microscopic bacteria, which are an entirely different category of pathogen.
The Hidden Danger of Raw Flour
The greatest risk in raw cookie dough comes from the flour itself, which is an untreated agricultural product. Flour is milled from grains grown in fields, meaning it can become contaminated with bacteria, such as Escherichia coli (E. coli), from soil or animal waste during harvest. The milling process does not involve a “kill step” like pasteurization or high-heat treatment to eliminate these pathogens. Therefore, raw flour should be treated as an uncooked food item.
Consuming flour contaminated with Shiga toxin-producing E. coli can lead to severe gastrointestinal illness, including intense stomach cramps, vomiting, and bloody diarrhea. This type of bacterial infection can progress to hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a serious complication that can cause kidney failure, especially in vulnerable populations like young children. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has investigated multiple outbreaks of E. coli infections linked directly to people eating raw flour. Outbreaks have led to public health warnings and recalls, highlighting the hidden danger of this ingredient.
Salmonella Risk from Uncooked Eggs
The traditional risk in raw cookie dough is the presence of Salmonella bacteria, which can be carried by uncooked eggs. Salmonella can contaminate an egg either externally, through contact with bird droppings on the shell, or internally, while the egg is forming inside the hen. Even clean, uncracked eggs can harbor this bacterium. When raw eggs are mixed into dough, the Salmonella bacteria are distributed throughout the entire product.
An infection from this bacterium, known as Salmonellosis, typically causes symptoms like diarrhea, abdominal cramps, fever, and vomiting. Illness usually begins between six hours and six days after consumption and lasts for four to seven days. While most healthy people recover without specific treatment, the infection can become severe. In rare cases, the bacteria can spread from the intestines to the bloodstream, leading to life-threatening complications.
How to Safely Eat Cookie Dough
It is possible to enjoy cookie dough safely by addressing the two main contamination sources: flour and eggs. The simplest solution is to purchase commercially available “edible” cookie dough products, which are formulated specifically for raw consumption. These products are safe because they are made with pasteurized eggs and heat-treated flour to eliminate pathogens.
If you wish to make safe-to-eat dough at home, you must first heat-treat your flour.
Heat-Treating Flour
Spread the flour on a baking sheet and bake it in an oven at 350°F for five to ten minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 160°F. Alternatively, microwave the flour in a microwave-safe bowl in 30-second intervals until it registers 160°F, stirring between each interval to ensure even heating.
Always use pasteurized eggs or a liquid egg substitute that has been treated to kill Salmonella.