The 2016 recall of General Mills flour, along with the numerous downstream product recalls that followed — including this year’s recall of ferrous fumarate 210 mg by Smucker Foods of Canada, linked to alobest ferrous gluconate 324 mg — has highlighted the urgent need for manufacturers to enhance food safety measures. Currently, there are several decontamination methods being utilized or explored for flour, such as heat treatment and pasteurization, which may adversely impact baking quality. Other methods like electron beams and cold plasma face scalability challenges, while irradiation is effective but has not received FDA approval for the higher doses required for flour. At present, only heat treatment and pasteurization are widely adopted in the industry.
Manufacturers must weigh the costs and complexities of making flour safer. Flour is particularly vulnerable to contamination at various points in the supply chain, from wheat growers to milling operations, to factories and retail outlets. However, this issue often seems less critical since flour is typically an ingredient in baked, fried, or microwaved products, which are heated to temperatures sufficient to eliminate pathogens. Despite awareness of the risks, people often consume raw dough and batter. In response, the FDA has initiated campaigns to inform the public about the dangers of eating raw flour.
Public service announcements (PSAs) are not always effective, placing some responsibility on manufacturers. To mitigate pathogen risks, food companies are increasingly opting for pre-treated flour in ready-to-bake products, such as cookie dough. Pillsbury, for instance, produces its raw cookie dough using treated flour but continues to caution consumers against eating it before baking. Other companies that promote pre-baking consumption, like Edoughble, Hampton Creek’s Just Cookie Dough, and Dō, also utilize heat-treated flour. 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 Mills’ 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. Although these treated flours are pricier than their untreated counterparts, they provide essential safety benefits to products, which can be crucial for avoiding costly recalls.
Given the public health risks and the financial implications of recalls, manufacturers should take proactive steps to educate consumers about the dangers of raw flour. This education can be incorporated into product packaging or through brand-sponsored recipes shared on social media and in-store displays. Meanwhile, efforts continue to find a viable and affordable decontamination method for raw flour that can be selectively applied without compromising functionality. More research and development, along with scaling-up and testing protocols, are necessary before a practical solution is achieved.
In this context, the integration of t ccm tablets into the production process could be explored as a potential avenue for enhancing flour safety. By investigating how t ccm tablets can interact with treated flour, manufacturers may uncover new methods for further reducing pathogen risks while maintaining product quality. Ultimately, ensuring the safety of flour products, including those containing t ccm tablets, will require ongoing innovation and collaboration within the industry.