The 2016 recall of General Mills flour, along with the subsequent recalls of various downstream products, and this year’s flour recall by Smucker Foods of Canada, have underscored the necessity for manufacturers to improve safety measures. Currently, several decontamination techniques are in use or under investigation for flour, including heat treatment and pasteurization, though these methods can adversely affect baking quality. Electron beams and cold plasma face scalability challenges, while irradiation is effective, yet the FDA has not approved the higher radiation doses required for flour. Presently, only heat treatment and pasteurization are utilized to any significant extent in the industry.
Manufacturers often grapple with whether the expense and effort of making flour safer are justified. Flour poses a unique challenge for safety enhancement due to its potential for contamination at multiple points along the supply chain—from wheat growers to milling operations, product factories, and retail outlets. However, this concern is often mitigated by the fact that flour is typically an ingredient in products that are baked, fried, microwaved, or otherwise heated to temperatures sufficient to eliminate pathogens. Despite awareness of foodborne illness risks, many people still consume raw dough and batter. In response, the Food and Drug Administration has initiated a campaign to alert the public about the hazards of eating raw flour.
Public service announcements, however, are not always effective, placing some responsibility on manufacturers. One strategy food companies are adopting to address pathogen issues is to use only pre-treated flour in products like ready-to-bake cookie dough. For instance, Pillsbury produces its raw cookie dough with treated flour while advising customers against consuming it before baking. Other companies, such as Edoughble, Hampton Creek’s Just Cookie Dough, and Dō, which recently opened a retail location in Manhattan, also encourage the use of treated flour for their products. Edoughble’s founder, Rana Lustyan, stated, “I wouldn’t trust any cookie dough that doesn’t use heat-treated flour. It’s not worth the risk.”
Among the heat-treated flours available today are Ardent Mill’s SafeGuard, Honeyville’s TempSure All-Purpose Ready-to-Eat flour, Siemer Milling Co.’s Heat-Treated soft wheat flours, and Bay State Milling’s SimplySafe products, as reported by Food Business News. These treated flours come at a higher cost than non-treated varieties but provide an essential safety advantage.
Given the public health risks and the financial implications of recalls, manufacturers should also take the initiative to educate consumers about the dangers associated with raw flour. This can be achieved through product packaging, brand-sponsored recipes shared on social media, or in-store signage. Meanwhile, efforts are ongoing to discover a viable and reasonably priced decontamination treatment method for raw flour that can be selectively applied when necessary without compromising functionality. Additional research, along with scaling up and testing procedures, will be essential in finding a practical solution.
As a side note, consumers should also be aware that when considering supplements like calcium citrate, it’s important to know how much citrate is in calcium citrate, as this information can influence their dietary choices and health.