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Tag: Flour

Safe Flour Handling: Know Your “Roll”

Holiday baking season is quickly approaching! It’s important for families to understand the risks of handling raw flour as well as the safety practices they can use to prevent flour-related foodborne illnesses.
On November 1, Noon CST, this free webinar, hosted by the Partnership for Food Safety Education, will highlight the risks associated with raw flour, the perceptions held by consumers in regard to the prevalence of illness, how to safely handle raw flour, and current food safety resources for health and food safety educators to share with consumers.

Guest speakers will include Fanfan Wu, Ph.D. and Sharmi Das with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

 

Salmonella in Raw Flour

Flour
Photo: Canva.com

Another recall has been issued linked to raw flour that has been found in 11 states, caused 12 illnesses and three hospitalizations. It is another reminder that any flour is a raw product and can cause foodborne illness. This outbreak results from people eating raw dough or batter. Currently, no specific brands of flour have been identified as the source of this recall.

Some reminders when handling raw flour include:

  • Do not eat any raw dough or batter in any amount. Always bake or cook foods made with any type of raw flour before consumption.
  • Wash your hands, equipment and surfaces that have touched raw flour.
  • Keep raw flour, dough, and batter away from ready-to-eat foods.

Information on this recall can be found at www.cdc.gov/salmonella/infantis-03-23/index.html

 

The Myths About Safety of Raw Flour

Flour
Always wash your hands after handling raw flour, dough or batter. Photo: Canva.com

Raw flour is just that. It is raw. To be consumed safely, baking or cooking it is a must. There are some misconceptions or myths surrounding raw flour that could lead to foodborne illness. Here are a few.

  • White flour is safer than whole wheat flour. During milling of wheat to making white flour, the bran is removed. This may reduce bacterial load by one log, which is not significant enough to be consumed raw.
  • Bleached vs. Unbleached flour. The bleaching process of flour has no effect on the overall safety. It only whitens the color of flour and is still raw flour.
  • Heating the flour in the oven or microwave. This is still not a proven step to heat treat flour at home before it is used. Flour is a low moisture food, and some bacteria can survive. Oven or microwave heating may be uneven or could catch the flour on fire.

Sources: Ardent Mills and North American Millers’ Association (Conference on Food Safety Education, 2023)

 

Hudson Cream Flour Festival

Like to bake? Like to enter a fun competition? Then this event is for you!

The Hudson Cream Flour Festival is set for Saturday, March 28, 2020 in Hudson, KS. There will be a baking contest, other contests, kids activities, tasty food, and more all centered around wheat.

The baking contest will have adult and youth divisions. This is a great event to start trying recipes to enter into your local county fair.

Follow updates on the Hudson Cream Flour Facebook page.

The Stafford County Flour Mill in Hudson, KS has been milling flour for over 100 years!

 

Holiday Baking Webinar

It’s not just the raw eggs that cause food safety problems. All kinds of flour are raw and must be baked for safe consumption.

‘Tis the season! Time to bring out the mixing bowls and warm up the ovens for holiday baking.

To help you make your baked goods safe, the Partnership for Food Safety Education is hosting “Holiday Baking for BAC Fighters: Promoting Home Safe Handling of Ingredients” on Tuesday, November 19 at Noon to 1:00pm CST.

The webinar will cover risks of consuming unbaked (raw) ingredients, dough or batter and discuss recent foodborne illness outbreaks linked to raw flour. They will also share behavioral health messages and downloadable resources to promote safe baking practices at home.

Guest speakers are Donald Kautter, senior advisor/consumer safety officer with the FDA, and Sharon Davis, family and consumer sciences educator with the Home Baking Association.

Register online now!

Potential Method to Protect Flour

Always wash your hands and equipment after handling raw flour.

Flour has been linked to foodborne illness in recent years. It is a real problem. A company in Toronto, Canada might have a solution.

They have developed a nonthermal method to get a 99.9% microbial reduction in flour. The method, called Neo-Temper™, applies an organic liquid solution to the wheat kernels in the tempering phase of milling wheat into flour. This liquid destroys surface pathogens and gets into cracks and crevices of the kernels that can hide pathogens. The liquid biodegrades and the flour retains its nutritional content and its functionality.

This new process is currently in the process of validation in several North American milling companies.

Source: www.agri-neo.com/neo-temper/

Baking with Sprouted Wheat Flour

Have you tried baking with sprouted wheat flour? Here are some tips from the Home Baking Association and Chef Stephanie Peterson.

  • Knead longer or add gluten. Sprouted wheat flour is a bit lower in gluten content. Knead dough longer or add extra vital wheat gluten.
  • Use shorter fermentation time. While long fermentation gives more flavor and character, sprouted wheat flour will not raise as much.
  • Cup for cup. Measure sprouted flour as traditional flour.
  • Avoid rancidity. Store in a cool, dry, dark location, or even in the freezer.
  • Food Safety. This is a raw flour just like all other flours. Wash your hands and clean equipment and surfaces well.

Learn more from the Home Baking Association at https://bit.ly/33odEly.

 

ALDI Flour Recall Linked to Eating Raw Dough

Photo: CDC

ALDI grocery stores recalled all purpose flour recently due to a multistate outbreak of E. coli O26 infections. As of May 24, 2019, 17 people have been infected across eight states. No deaths have been reported.

Investigation results have shown that of those interviewed, they reported eating, licking, or tasting raw dough or batter. DNA fingerprinting identified the flour as the source of the infection.

Symptoms of E. coli infection can appear in one to three days. But the time it takes to confirm that a person is a part of an outbreak can take two to three weeks.

Learn more at www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2019/flour-05-19/index.html.

 

Flour Recall in Canada

A nationwide recall of flour in Canada has led to a class-action lawsuit. The recall is due to 26 cases of E. coli including six hospitalizations, but no deaths.

This large recall is another reminder that flour is a raw food product. After handling flour, always wash your hands and clean surfaces and equipment thoroughly. Baking and cooking flour will also kill E. coli. Do not consume raw dough products such as cookie dough and cake batter.

Canadian recall information can be found at http://bit.ly/2o7p9tH.

For more information:

Say No to Raw Dough!

Raw Dough’s a Raw Deal and Could Make You Sick

 

It’s Cookie Time!

Sugar CookiesThe holidays bring the joy of time with family and friends! One tradition is making cookies to share. With recent recalls of contaminated flour, it is important to handle cookie dough safely to not spoil holiday fun.

Many cookies are shaped with your hands. Resist the temptation to lick your fingers or sample the cookie dough! Risks from eating raw eggs and now uncooked flour, can increase your risk of getting a foodborne illness. Regardless of the brand or source of flour or eggs, the risk of foodborne illness is present when consumed raw.

Be sure hard surfaces to roll out cookie dough are clean and sanitized before and after dough has been in contact with the surface.

As always, wash your hands before and after handling cookie dough or any raw foods. Follow recipe instructions for baking cookies at proper temperatures and specified times.

For more information, see:

www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm508450.htm

www.cleaninginstitute.org/clean_living/surfaces.aspx

www.bestfoodfacts.org/raw-cookie-dough-fda-says-no/