The state Department of Health is warning consumers not to eat any varieties of prepackaged Nestle Toll House refrigerated cookie dough due to the risk of contamination with E. coli O157:H7, a bacterium that causes food-borne illness.

Nestle USA today voluntarily recalled its Toll House refrigerated cookie dough products after a number of illnesses were reported by those who ate the dough raw.
The company said the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control are investigating reported E. coli illnesses that might be related to eating the dough.
In a statement, the FDA said there have been 66 reports of illness across 28 states since March. About 25 people have been hospitalized, but no one has died. E. coli is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause bloody diarrhea, dehydration and, in the most severe cases, kidney failure.
Hawaii has identified one case of E. coli that is associated with this outbreak.
However, final confirmation of a definitive match to the outbreak strain is pending from CDC.
The state Department of Health advises that if consumers have any prepackaged, refrigerated Nestle Toll House cookie dough products in their home that they throw them away.
Cooking the dough is not recommended because consumers might get the bacteria on their hands and on other cooking surfaces.
Spokeswoman Laurie MacDonald for Nestle USA in Glendale, Calif., a unit of Switzerland-based Nestle SA, said the company has temporarily stopped making the refrigerated dough products while the FDA investigates the Danville, Va., factory where all the recalled items are made.
“We hope to resume production as soon as possible,” she said.
Nestle holds a 41 percent share of the prepared cookie dough market.
The recall includes refrigerated cookie bar dough, cookie dough tubs, cookie dough tubes, limited edition cookie dough items, seasonal cookie dough and Ultimates cookie bar dough. Nestle said about 300,000 cases of Nestle Toll House cookie dough are affected by the recall, which covers chocolate chip dough, gingerbread, sugar, peanut butter dough and other varieties.
The FDA said consumers should not try to cook the dough, even though it would be safe to eat if cooked, because the bacteria could move to their hands and to countertops and other cooking surfaces.
Raw cookie dough is so popular that it has spawned more than 40 groups on Facebook, complete with postings that read like love notes.
Stacey Oyler, a 33-year-old San Francisco resident, called it her “secret indulgence” — a treat that became irresistible when she was pregnant with her second child last August. She said she still indulges occasionally.
“I love the combination of the salt and sweet,” she said. “You can’t get that from a piece of chocolate.”
But no raw cookie is necessarily safe. The eggs in Nestle Toll House’s dough are pasteurized, which eliminates most of the risk of salmonella infection from raw eggs. But other ingredients could contain pathogens or bacteria, and the company warns in product labels not to eat the dough raw.
Consumers who have additional questions about these products or would like to view a complete listing of recalled products should contact Nestle consumer services at 1-800-559-5025 and/or visit their Web site at www.verybestbaking.com