Nestle Toll House develops cookie dough it says is safe to eat

Nestle Toll House's latest product is aimed at people who yearn to eat cookie dough but worry about salmonella and other illnesses. Nestle says its new "edible cookie dough," which comes in two flavors, is designed to be eaten straight from the tub -- no cooking necessary.

The food company said the dough retails for about $5.50 for a 15-ounce container, or more than twice the cost of a package of Nestle Toll House chocolate chip cookie dough that's designed for baking. Nestle said it's rolling out the dough first to Publix, where it's already in stock, and will expand to Walmart in the Southeast and then to local grocery stores later in the summer. 

The two flavors are chocolate chip and peanut butter chocolate chip monster, which is a combination of peanut butter, oats and candy-coated chocolate.

Consumers who spotted the dough at Publix this week tweeted photos of the product before Nestle had announced it. "Why yes, I am going to try the Toll House edible cookie dough," one shopper wrote, posting a photo of several containers of the new product. 

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has long urged consumers that eating uncooked dough can cause illness, with raw eggs tied to salmonella and raw flour connected to E. coli infections.

In:
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention