What’s more delicious than scrumptious baked goodies and getting an early taste? As tempting as it is to lick the spoon and taste that batter, whether you’re baking brownies, cookies, pies or other delights, this advice remains true:
    Don’t eat the dough.
    Flour, the main ingredient for these foods, is a raw agricultural product that hasn’t been treated to kill germs, such as Escherichia coli (E.coli). Any bacteria that lives within the raw product is only killed off when the flour is cooked, reports Extension Educator Andrea Nisley.
    Eggs are also another ingredient of most doughs and are only safe to eat when fully cooked and handled properly. They could contain salmonella.
    Follow safe food handling practices when you are baking and cooking with flour and other raw ingredients:
–Do not taste or eat any raw dough or batter, whether for cookies, tortillas, pizza, biscuits, pancakes or crafts made with raw flour, such as homemade play dough.
–Do not let children play with or eat raw dough, including dough for crafts.
–Bake or cook raw dough and batter, such as cookie dough and cake mix, before eating.
–Follow the recipe or package directions for cooking or baking at the proper temperature and for the specified time.
–Do not make milkshakes with products that contain raw flour, such as cake mix.
–Do not use raw, homemade cookie dough in ice cream. Cookie dough ice cream sold in stores contains dough that has been treated to kill harmful bacteria.

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