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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] The Case of the 'Poisonous' Pawpaw Cookies

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  • From: Lucky Pittman <lucky.pittman@murraystate.edu>
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] The Case of the 'Poisonous' Pawpaw Cookies
  • Date: Wed, 20 Jul 2005 10:29:33 -0500

At 05:42 AM 7/20/2005, you wrote:
It's very odd to get food poisoning from cookies.  Everything has 
been cooked, and then it is both sweet and dry, which isn't terribly 
conducive to bacterial growth. 
Agreed.  Everything about the situation suggests a pre-formed toxin, that was evidently heat-stabile, or at least for the 15 minutes the cookies were baked.  Sounds very much like Staphylococcal enterotoxin B, which fits those criteria.  The eggs looked OK.  I suppose the pawpaw pulp might be the offending source, as it was thawed at room temperature overnight (I forgot to stick it in the fridge to thaw.).  I'm pretty adamant about thawing meats in the fridge, rather than at room temp, but never considered the pawpaw pulp as a major threat.

Is there any chance you put the finished cookies on a contaminated surface? 
No, they remained on the cookie sheet from the time they came out of the oven until I put them in a new, clean plastic bag to bring them in to the office.

Lucky




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