A sample of raw cookie dough collected at a Nestlé plant in Danville, Va. has tested positive for E. coli O157:H7. The sample was taken last week, the Food and Drug Administration reported.

Earlier this month, Nestle recalled all its Toll House refrigerated cookie dough after it was suspected as the cause of a foodborne illness outbreak that so far has sickened 69 persons in 29 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Of those, 34 have been hospitalized and nine have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a serious complication.

The sample of contaminated Toll House refrigerated prepackaged dough was manufactured at the plant on Feb. 10, according to the FDA. In a statement, Nestlé said the sample that tested positive came from a 16-ounce Toll House refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough bar. The product had a “best before June 10, 2009” label.

E. coli O157:H7 has not been associated with eating raw cookie dough before, according to the CDC. The concern with eating raw dough is more commonly salmonella, which can be found in raw eggs. We wonder how the dough became contaminated with E. coli.

Inspection reports from Nestlé's Danville plant show that the company refused several times over the past five years to provide FDA inspectors with complaint logs, pest-control records and other information, the New York Times reported recently.