The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is once again chasing after a food safety mystery that is already putting consumers at risk. The agency announced June 19 that E. coli contaminated Nestle cookie dough is tied to a recent rash of illnesses.

FDA is warning consumers to throw away any refrigerated Nestle Toll House cookie dough products. Nestle, working with FDA and retailers, is pulling products from store shelves. The outbreak, which investigators believe began in March, has already sickened at least 65 people in more than two dozen states.

Last summer, the agency spent months trying to figure out the cause of a salmonella outbreak that sickened more than 1,000 people. Initially, FDA focused on tomatoes but later identified Mexican-grown jalapeno peppers as the culprits.

This time, the agency knows the food source, cookie dough, and it knows the contaminant, E. coli 0157. The question is, How did the cookie dough become contaminated with E. coli? Since cookie dough contains egg, and since anyone with working taste buds and a willingness to live dangerously enjoys eating raw cookie dough, salmonella would seem the more logical offender.

The mystery has investigators exploring multiple trails. "Because the appearance of E. coli 0157 in cookie dough is so unusual, investigators are looking at a broad range of possible factors, analyzing the ingredients, the plant's equipment and interior, the health of workers and whether the facility is located near cattle," according to The Washington Post.

In any event, FDA is once again playing catch up. Sarah Klein, an attorney at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, reminds us why pending legislation aimed at bolstering FDA's authority is necessary to prevent similar incidents in the future:

For too long the agency has lacked the authority and the resources it needs to inspect food processing facilities, issue mandatory recalls, and punish violators. Once again the agency is forced to react after illnesses are already occurring, when the focus should be on preventing contamination in the first place. We urge the House to pass the Food Safety Enhancement Act now. 

The bipartisan bill has cleared the House Energy and Commerce Committee and awaits action before the full House. On the Senate side, prospects for a similar bill are less rosy.

Image by Flickr user SuperFantastic, used under a Creative Commons license.