The article “Raw cookie dough’s flour could make you really sick” by Laurel Hamers is about how an epidemiologist worked to target wheat flour as a reason for making people sick due to the bacteria E. coli.  There were two E. coli outbreaks in the U.S. and Canada in late 2015 and 2016.

 63 people were sick from December 2015 to September 2016 in the United States.  An epidemiologist named Samuel Crowe headed a study to figure out what was causing people to become sick.  He asked 10 people about what they ate before they got sick and only two remembered that they had raw cookie dough and sent pictures of the bags of flour they used, both made in the same facility.  Follow-up questions help him and his colleagues consider flour as a culprit.  The U.S Food and Drug Administration tested the flour in the lab and found pieces of E. coli..

 E. coli grows in moist environments,but can survive in dry environmentsfor a while so when it’s mixed with a liquid, the bacteria revives and can be in things like cookie dough.  There were cases where kids got sick from raw tortilla dough, but the same wheat flour made in the same facilities as the flour in the cookie dough cases mentioned previously were used.  Over 250 products that had flour were recalled because of the study.  There are ways to avoid the bacteria such as heat treatment, which does affect the flour’s structure or irradiation, but it takes a larger amount of radiation to get rid of it. Or, there’s always being patient for some freshly baked goods.    I chose this article because I this bacteria is prominent in the food industry.  As well as that I feel it’s important to know how to avoid certain illnesses and food safety.

 This can be applied to bakers, people that cook, restaurants and more.  It can help them be aware of  bacteria and help avoid it and make sure their customers and diners stay healthy.  I myself can be safer from sicknesses like E. coli. by not eating raw cookie dough and help spread the word to people I know and promote food safety.  Caution with food is important and it can easily be shown how important it is when people get sick or when statistics and studies are done on it, as shown in the article.  This article can be applied and the cooking science helps connect the situation to science, research, everyday life, and health even more.