E Coli: Nestle Recalls Cookie Dough Items

Nestle has ordered a recall of all its Toll House cookie dough products after some customers contracted E. coli from eating the raw dough.

In a statement, the FDA said there have been 66 reports of illness across 28 states since March. About 25 people have been hospitalized, but no one has died. E. coli is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause bloody diarrhea, dehydration and, in the most severe cases, kidney failure. The FDA advised consumers to throw away any Nestle Toll House cookie dough products in their homes and asked retailers, restaurateurs and other foodservice operations not to sell or serve any of the products. "This has been a very quickly moving situation,'' Nestle spokeswoman Roz O'Hearn said, adding the company took action within 24 hours of learning of the problem. O'Hearn said the company will "cooperate fully'' with the FDA's investigation.

Nestle says that while cooking the items would kill the bacteria, customers should still throw away all cookie dough products as they could contaminate their hands and kitchen surfaces during preparation.