Don't eat cookie dough

Because of the presence of raw egg, the consumption of uncooked cookie dough increases the possibility of contracting. The (FDA) strongly discourages the consumption of all food products containing raw egg or raw flour because of the threat from disease-causing bacteria such as ' and '.

There have been a number of outbreaks related to consumption of cookie dough and pathogens in flour. For example, raw flour was found to be the culprit in a June 2009 E. coli outbreak involving Toll House prepackaged cookie dough, which was recalled; more than 7,000 people fell ill as a result, although none died. In 2010, Nestle decided to switch to heat-treated processing for all flour used in producing cookie dough. In 2016, recalled flour and cake mixes because of E. coli found in the raw flour. In 2015, there was a recall of certain products due to  found in the facility that produces cookie dough for the ice cream's chocolate chip cookie dough and other cookie dough containing flavors.

Edible cookie dough
Cookie dough designed specifically for eating raw (such as that found in ice cream) is made without raw eggs and uses heat-treated flour to reduce the presence of microbial pathogens.

Edible cookie dough, egg-free and made with specially treated flour, became a dessert trend and led to the creation of several businesses. Some sweet shops sell multiple desserts with cookie dough as only one option, and others solely create and sell dough.