Ice Cream Listeria Outbreaks
Ice cream is the source of two ongoing Listeria outbreaks. One is linked to Soft Serve on the Go ice cream sold at retail stores and served at long-term healthcare facilities. The other is linked to milkshakes served at Frugals restaurant in Tacoma, WA.
Soft Serve on the Go Listeria Outbreak
Soft Serve on the Go ice cream has been linked to a Listeria outbreak with illnesses in two states. Real Koshser Ie Cream of Brooklyn, the maker of the ice cream, has issued a recall for all Soft Serve on the Go products made through August 4, 2023.
Two illnesses have been confirmed, one in New York, and another in Pennsylvania. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says it’s likely that many more people have been sickened as the contaminated ice cream was distributed to 19 states and Washington, DC.
Soft Serve on the Go ice cream and sorbet was sold at stores in these states.
Listeria Outbreak at Frugals in Tacoma, WA
A Listeria outbreak at Frugals in Tacoma, WA includes three hospitalizations and three deaths. The shake machine at the restaurant, located at 10727 Pacific Ave. S., has been identified as the source of the outbreak.
The state health department is urging Frugals customers who ate milkshakes at the restaurant between May 29 and Aug. 7, 2023 and have Listeria symptoms to see a doctor and mention exposure to Listeria.
Symptoms of a Listeria Infection
Symptoms of a Listeria infection include high fever, stiff neck, severe headache, other muscle stiffness, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, and loss of balance. These symptoms can appear within 24 hours of exposure but sometimes they can take as long as 70 days to develop. Among pregnant women, Listeria can cause miscarriages and stillbirths even if the expectant mother experience only mild symptoms.
Previous Listeria Outbreaks
Big Olaf Ice Cream Listeria Outbreak
Over a 20-month period ending in January 2023, a Listeria outbreak linked to Big Olaf sickened 28 people. One person died, another suffered a miscarriage.
Twenty-five of the patients either lived in or visited Florida prior to the illnesses. Big Olaf ice cream is only sold in Florida except for one location in Ohio.
Snoqualmie Ice Cream Listeria Outbreak
In 2014, Snoqualmie ice cream was linked to a Listeria outbreak that sickened two people. Both of them lived in the Seattle area.
Blue Bell Ice Cream Listeria Outbreak
Between 2010 and 2014, 10 people were sickened in a Blue Bell Ice Cream Listeria Outbreak. Three people died.
FDA inspections in March and April 2015 revealed food safety issues at both the company’s facilities in Brenham, TX, and Broken Arrow, OK facilities.
In May 2020, Blue Bell pleaded guilty to knowingly distributing contaminated food products and agreed to pay $19 million in fines.
Blue Bell’s former president, Paul Kruse, was charged with seven felony counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. In a plea deal struck in 2023, Kruse pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge over food safety violations and agreed to pay a $100,000 fine and avoid jail time.
Contact an Experienced Listeria Attorney
The Listeria attorneys at Pritzker Hageman law firm have represented clients in every major Listeria outbreak in the U.S. Our legal team has won hundreds of millions of dollars for our clients, including some of the largest recoveries in history. If you would like a free consultation with a Listeria attorney, please call 1-888-377-8900, text 612-261-0856, or fill out the form below.