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Raw cookie dough not worth the risk

New York, New York - December 9, 2011

It is a guilty pleasure for many people -- raw cookie dough. But now a new study finds if you don't bake it first, that dough could make you very sick.

People who love cookies sometimes like the raw cookie dough even better. But a stomach ache could be the least of your problems. the CDC says that eating raw cookie dough, whether home-made or store-bought, could make you seriously sick.

"You shouldn't eat raw cookie dough regardless of what flavor or where you got it," said the CDC's Dr. Karen Neil.

The newest research is based on an e-coli outbreak two years ago, which sent 35 people to the hospital. The bacteria causes fever and stomach pain. In the worst cases, it can cause kidney failure. The CDC's investigation pointed to read- to-bake prepackaged cookie dough and led to a major recall.

If you're really hooked, there are other ways to get your fix. The CDC says "ready-to-eat products like cookie dough ice cream are okay.

But if it's meant to be baked, doctors recommend following the instructions. They're still not sure which ingredient caused the 2009 outbreak, but they've identified flour as the most likely culprit.

"Flour is an agricultural product and it doesn't usually undergo specific processing to kill pathogens, so we think flour is the prime suspect," Dr. Neil said.

A fact that won't stop Nicholas Yarden. "Cookie dough, I don't think that's a problem, it's not a menace, and I will continue doing it for the rest of my life," he said.

A decision, doctors say, is simply not worth the risk.

Alison Harmelin - CBS News