Flour Safety in Early Years | Sue Asquith Guidance

Using flour in the early years

Sue Asquith explains the latest guidance about using flour in the early years

Flour may not look like a raw food like egg or meat do; however, it is classed as raw ingredient. The grain has been ground and possibly bleached whilst it is being processed into flour, but these steps do not kill harmful bacteria and therefore germs can be present in flour, flour products and flour mixes that you can buy. Germs such as Escherichia coli (E. coli) which can cause food poisoning can therefore present in flour and flour products.

The Food Standard Agency released guidance about the use of raw flour 11th April 2024 suggesting heat treating flour before using it to make foods like raw cookie dough, baking, cooking or in dough for crafts. The guidance gave specific information about how to heat treat flour in the oven or a frying pan and suggested that play dough is made in a pan.

In August I submitted another enquiry about the risk of flour exploding and catching fire and also asking for information about using oats and rice for sensory play. The flour advice for consumers for handling flour safely was updated 11th August 2024. The answer to my enquiry stated that the update ‘removed heat treatment as an option to reduce risk in light of new evidence. The advice remains that care settings may wish to use the guidance to inform their risk assessment processes, with a focus on hygiene measures to reduce the risk’.

The August update states:

‘Getting ill from uncooked flour or flour products is rare as they are mostly used as an ingredient in foods to be to be baked or cooked. Thorough cooking makes uncooked flour safe to eat. Food poisoning bacteria have been found in flour and pastry products in the UK, and there are examples from other countries where similar products have been linked to outbreaks of illness.

You should not eat flour or flour products such as pastry and doughs that have not been cooked thoroughly or are not sold as ready to eat. This is because flour is not usually treated during processing to kill any food poisoning bacteria that may be present. Make sure to always follow the manufacturer’s instructions provided on the packaging. This will tell you if the product must be cooked or it can be eaten raw.

It is particularly important for vulnerable people, such as young children, those with compromised immune systems and older people, to follow this advice because their immune system may not be able to fight off infections as easily. They should also take care when handling flour and flour products and follow the advice on the 4Cs: cooking, cleaning, chilling and avoiding cross contamination‘.

Using raw flour safely

The updated advice from the Food Standards Agency:

do not eat or taste uncooked flour or flour products, such as pastry, cookie dough, pizza dough and batter, such as cake mix, unless labelling indicates they are ready to eat
keep flour and flour mixes (e.g. bread or cake mix) in a sealed bag or container – flour can spread easily and contaminate other foods
follow cooking, storage and handling instructions provided on the packaging
wash hands thoroughly with soap and warm water before and after handling flour, uncooked pastry, or dough
clean all surfaces properly – wash bowls, utensils, and surfaces with warm, soapy water or your usual surface cleaner and disinfect where necessary

Early years settings provide sensory play using oats and rice as well as the opportunities for children to cook and bake. Children may be involved making play dough and some of you will provide play dough stations where the children can make their own dough (with the appropriate risk assessments and supervision in place). You do not have to call a halt on these wonderful learning opportunities, but they do need risk assessing to take into account of the latest advice.

Using flour, oats and rice for sensory play

The August update removed the procedure for heating treat flour and now says:

‘You may find recipes that provide guidance on how to heat treat flour when cooking at home. However, while heat treatments applied in the home may reduce the risk, we can’t be certain that they will kill any harmful bacteria that might be present and eliminate the risk completely.

During manufacturing food businesses can apply processes that will kill any food poisoning bacteria that may be present in uncooked flour. This is why some shop bought products such as cookie dough used in ice cream are safe to eat’.

When sharing this information with you via my social media links many of you asked about using oats and rice for sensory play. I submitted an enquiry and here’s the official reply from the Food Hygiene and Foodborne Disease team:

‘With regards to the use of oats in sensory play, oats go through processes after harvesting which make them safe to handle and to consume raw, we advise that manufacturer’s instructions are followed in terms of storage and that the oats are discarded after use.

Uncooked rice can have spores of Bacillus cereus, which is a bacterium that can cause food poisoning if ingested. If using rice in sensory play, monitoring the activity carefully to avoid any rice being ingested is recommended. Wash hands thoroughly before and after handling rice and cleaning all surfaces and utensils properly is also advised.

Children and older people may be more vulnerable to infection so additional care may be needed when handling raw products. In the case of using both products for sensory play, the individual setting should take account of this advice when considering how risks associated with these activities are managed as part of their risk assessment process.’

This webpage was updated 09/09/2024 to reflect the FSA advice and the reply to my enquiry – please ensure that you check the FSA website for future updates.