A total of 26 people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella were reported from 6 states. Illnesses started on dates ranging from February 24, 2023, to May 28, 2023. Of 23 people with information available, 4 were hospitalized. No deaths were reported.
State and local public health officials interviewed people about the foods they ate in the week before they got sick. Of the 22 people interviewed, 17 reported eating food from Papa Murphy’s. Fifteen people ate Papa Murphy’s raw chocolate chip cookie dough or raw S’mores bars dough, and one person ate baked cookies made with Papa Murphy’s chocolate chip cookie dough.
Public health investigators used the PulseNet system to identify illnesses that were part of this outbreak. CDC PulseNet manages a national database of DNA fingerprints of bacteria that cause foodborne illnesses. DNA fingerprinting is performed on bacteria using a method called whole genome sequencing (WGS).
WGS showed that bacteria from sick people’s samples are closely related genetically. This suggests that people in this outbreak got sick from the same food.
On May 23, Papa Murphy’s temporarily stopped selling their raw chocolate chip cookie dough and raw S’mores bars dough in response to this outbreak. As of July 13, Papa Murphy’s has not restarted sales of cookie dough and is reviewing their dessert labels to make it clear to customers that their products are not intended to be eaten raw.
CDC always advises people not to eat raw cookie dough, unless it has a label indicating that it is safe to be eaten raw.
- FDA: Outbreak Investigation of Salmonella – Raw Cookie Dough
- Papa Murphy’s Important Product Information
- Washington State Department of Health: Salmonella Outbreak Likely Linked to Eating Raw Cookie Dough
- Oregon Health Authority: OHA Investigating Salmonella Cases Linked to Papa Murphy’s Cookie Dough (English and Spanish)
- Say No to Raw Dough
Salmonella: Marler Clark, The Food Safety Law Firm, is the nation’s leading law firm representing victims of Salmonella outbreaks. The Salmonella lawyers of Marler Clark have represented thousands of victims of Salmonella and other foodborne illness outbreaks and have recovered over $850 million for clients. Marler Clark is the only law firm in the nation with a practice focused exclusively on foodborne illness litigation. Our Salmonella lawyers have litigated Salmonella cases stemming from outbreaks traced to a variety of foods, such as cantaloupe, tomatoes, ground turkey, salami, sprouts, cereal, peanut butter, and food served in restaurants. The law firm has brought Salmonella lawsuits against such companies as Cargill, ConAgra, Peanut Corporation of America, Sheetz, Taco Bell, Subway and Wal-Mart.
If you or a family member became ill with a Salmonella infection, including Reactive Arthritis or Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), after consuming food and you’re interested in pursuing a legal claim, contact the Marler Clark Salmonella attorneys for a free case evaluation.
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