Nestle Toll House relaunches with 'new batch' label

SOLON, Ohio After almost two months of being out of the U.S. marketplace, Nestle USA is pleased to announce that Nestle Toll House refrigerated cookie dough is returning to stores this week.

To make it easy for both retail partners and consumers to identify the new batch of cookie dough, a blue "new batch" label will appear on all new production cookie dough items. Nestle Toll House shipping cases also are marked in blue (rather than the previous black) to denote new production and will contain the statement: "Do not consume raw cookie dough." The adoption of this distinct labeling is the result of helpful discussions between Food & Drug Administration officials and Nestle, following reports of E.coli O157:H7 illnesses that appeared to be related to the consumption of raw cookie dough.

Following the voluntary recall of all Nestle Toll House refrigerated cookie dough products in June and throughout the investigation, Nestle worked in full cooperation with the FDA to test their facility, production equipment, processes, ingredients and finished product to ensure that Nestle Toll House cookies meet the high standards consumers have come to expect.

"We're proud to place Nestle Toll House refrigerated cookie dough back on store shelves," said Paul Bakus, general manager, Nestle USA Baking Group. "While the FDA inspection at our Danville, Va., facility has concluded, Nestle's commitment to food safety continues, as does our intensive testing. We test ingredients as they arrive and our cookie dough as it's made. We hope families around the country will continue to enjoy our cookies."

Consumers who purchased the recalled products should not consume them. Instead, Nestle asked that consumers return these products to their local grocer for a full refund. Nestle has also strongly advised consumers that cookie dough should not be consumed raw as their product labels caution.

Consumers with questions are invited to contact Nestle Consumer Services at 1-800-559-5025 or to visit our web site at www.verybestbaking.com.