Nestle Toll House Cookie Dough

One of the food industry's more massive headlines occurred at the end of June, when a deadly strain of E. coli bacteria was discovered in a batch of Nestlé Toll House refrigerated cookie dough. Two months later, Nestle is returning its dough batter to shelves — albeit with an important warning.

At least 66 people in 28 states reported getting sick from the product. Nearly all of the victims were female, under the age of 19, and reported eating raw dough before experiencing symptoms. In response, Nestlé voluntarily recalled 3.6 million packages of its cookie dough, and shuttered the portion of its Danville, VA, plant as federal investigators tried to determine the source of contamination. After completely disassembling the equipment in the plant for inspection and sanitizing, the company is shipping out fresh refrigerated cookie dough packs. To help shoppers identify it as new and improved, the package now contains a blue, star-shaped seal that says "New Batch" — along with the warning "Do not consume raw cookie dough" on both the front and back.

Are you excited to hear that Toll House cookies are back — or are you afraid to eat them? What do you think of the new warning labeling? Does the recall situation make you reconsider the idea of eating raw cookie dough straight out of the package?

Source: Flickr User √oхέƒx™

Yesterday, Dunkin' Donuts temporarily pulled its Dunkaccino and hot chocolate drinks off store menus after discovering that one of its suppliers' facilities may have been contaminated with salmonella. The doughnut chain's supplier, Plainview Milk Products Cooperative, voluntarily recalled several of its products, although no illnesses have been traced back to the contamination. Dunkin' Donuts is confident the drinks will be back in stores soon, but yesterday's recall is simply one more to add to a rapidly growing list of food contamination concerns. At the end of last month, Nestlé pulled 30,000 cases of Toll House refrigerated cookie dough after dozens of illnesses were traced to the product, which contained harmful traces of E. coli bacteria. Then over 380,000 pounds of beef were recalled across the country because the meat was also tainted with toxic E. coli. More than 12 people have been hospitalized as a result.

Food contamination appears to be a concern for Americans now more than ever. In March, following recalls of spinach, jalapeños, milk, and peanut butter, President Obama addressed food-safety issues and reassured Americans that he would aid the FDA in strengthening the country's food-safety system. Yet the situation only seems to be getting worse. Are you as frustrated with the FDA's lack of diligence as I am?