Among the more than 60 products included in the recall are Chipwich Vanilla Chocolate Chip ice cream sandwiches, Jeni's Mint Chocolate Truffle pie ice cream sandwiches and Hershey's Cookies & Cream Polar Bear ice cream sandwiches.
Chipwich / Jeni's ice cream / Hershey's ice cream
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Chipwich / Jeni's ice cream / Hershey's ice cream
As millions of Americans try to cool off during summer's record heat, so does a Maryland-based food manufacturer remembering multiple brands of ice cream products sold nationwide that may be contaminated with listeria, a potentially fatal bacteria.
The list of more than 60 affected products made by Totally Cool Inc. of Owings Mills, Maryland, and includes brands such as Hershey's, Friendly's, Chipwich and Jeni's. Large amounts of ice cream and sorbet, as well as ice cream cakes, sandwiches, cones and more, may be contaminated.
The Food and Drug Administration said no illnesses have been reported so far.
Totally Cool halted production and distribution of the products after FDA samples detected the presence of listeria, the agency said.
The company is investigating the presence of listeria and taking “preventative measures,” the FDA added, and no other Totally Cool products are included in the recall.
Totally Cool did not immediately respond to NPR's request for comment.
Consumers who purchased any of the recalled ice cream products are urged to return the items for a full refund. The affected products can be identified using the date and plant codes printed on the product labels.
Chipwich said in a statement on its website that its parent company, Crave Better Foods LLC, “maintains and operates a small, separate production line” in the same Maryland facility as Totally Cool.
Chipwich called the recall “unfortunate” and said it was “made out of an abundance of caution and care for the product and its loyal fans.”
Hershey's ice cream said it has halted sales of potentially affected products following the recall by its manufacturing partner Totally Cool. Hershey's also asked consumers and dealers to throw away potentially contaminated items they already had on hand.
The FDA says Listeria monocytogenes can lead to serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, the elderly, and anyone with a weakened immune system. Pregnant people infected with listeria can also experience miscarriages or stillbirths.
Healthy people who eat food contaminated with the bacteria may experience a milder illness with symptoms including high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, the agency said.
That's about 1,600 people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention infected with listeriosis An estimated 260 of them die each year.
