Cookie Dough from SoCal School Fundraisers Recalled

LOS ANGELES -- Peanut butter cookie dough distributed as part of a fundraising activity at three Southern California schools, including two in Los Angeles County, may be tainted with salmonella and is being recalled, it was announced Tuesday.

The dough was distributed by Ontario-based Sweet Success Fundraising Inc. to three schools: Fremont Elementary in Alhambra, 93rd Street Elementary School in Los Angeles and Barstow Intermediate School in San Bernardino County, according to Sweet Success.

All told, 170 of the three-pound tubs of frozen cookie dough, which sell for $14 apiece, are affected, Sweet Success spokeswoman Lilly Ceja said.

Early reports suggesting that as many as 13 schools throughout Southern California were affected by the recall were based on faulty information from Sweet Success's distributor, Ceja said.

"We jumped on this one. We didn't think twice to protect our reputation," she said, adding that safety was the company's top priority.

No illnesses connected with the cookie dough have been reported to date, state health officials said.

The frozen cookie dough, which was packaged without lot codes or "use-by" dates, may have been made with peanut butter that was voluntarily recalled by the Peanut Corporation of America, according to the California Department of Public Health.

PCA recalled certain lots of its peanut butter that were manufactured at its Blakely, Ga.,  processing facility that had the "potential" to be contaminated with salmonella, health officials said.

The recalled cookie dough was sold to Sweet Success after Dec. 8.

Salmonella bacteria can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in  young children, the elderly and others with a weakened immune system.

Symptoms in healthy individuals infected with salmonella include fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal cramps.

Consumers with those symptoms should contact a physician.

Anyone who purchased the recalled cookie dough can call Sweet Success for a full refund at 909-947-5800, Ceja said.

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