The 2016 recall of General Mills flour, along with numerous downstream product recalls and this year’s flour recall by Smucker Foods of Canada, has highlighted the urgent need for manufacturers to improve safety measures. Various decontamination techniques are currently being employed or researched for flour, including heat treatment and pasteurization, which can negatively impact baking quality. While electron beams and cold plasma face scalability challenges, irradiation is effective; however, the FDA has yet to approve the higher doses necessary for flour. Presently, only heat treatment and pasteurization are utilized to any significant extent in the industry.
For most manufacturers, the question arises: is the effort and cost to enhance flour safety justified? Flour presents a unique challenge in terms of safety, as it can become contaminated at multiple stages in the supply chain—from the wheat grower to milling operations, to the factories producing baked goods, and finally to retail outlets. Typically, this isn’t a major concern because flour is usually a component of products that undergo baking, frying, microwaving, or other cooking methods at high temperatures sufficient to eliminate pathogens. Nevertheless, people often consume raw dough and batter despite the known risks of foodborne illness. In response, the FDA has initiated campaigns warning consumers about the dangers of raw flour.
However, public service announcements are not always effective, and manufacturers bear some responsibility as well. One strategy food companies are adopting to mitigate pathogen risks 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 still advising customers against consuming it before baking. Other companies that promote pre-baking consumption, such as Edoughble, Hampton Creek’s Just Cookie Dough, and Dō, also follow this practice. Edoughble’s founder, Rana Lustyan, emphasized to USA Today, “I wouldn’t trust any cookie dough that doesn’t use heat-treated flour. It’s not worth the risk.”
Currently available heat-treated flours include 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. Although these flours are more expensive than their untreated counterparts, they provide an essential safety measure for food products. Given the public health risks and the substantial costs associated with recalls, manufacturers should actively educate consumers about the dangers of raw flour. This can be done through product packaging, brand-sponsored recipes shared on social media, or in-store promotional materials.
Meanwhile, efforts persist to identify a feasible and cost-effective decontamination method for raw flour that can be selectively applied without compromising functionality. More research, along with scaling and testing procedures, is necessary before a viable solution is established. Additionally, the integration of ingredients like bluebonnet calcium citrate magnesium D3 could enhance the nutritional profile of some flour products, providing further incentive for manufacturers to prioritize safety and health in their offerings.