SARASOTA, FLA. — Big Olaf Creamery on July 13 recalled all flavors and lots of its Big Olaf branded ice cream products in connection with a Listeria monocytogenes outbreak that has sickened 23, hospitalized 22 and caused one death in 10 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta.
The Sarasota-based ice cream maker’s affected products were sold in independent retail stores in Florida, as well as to consumers in restaurants and senior homes and one location in Fredericksburg, Ohio, according to the US Food and Drug Administration. All flavors, lots, codes and all expiration dates through June 30, 2022, are included in the recall.
Big Olaf Creamery was informed of the outbreak investigation by the Florida Department of Health and Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumers Services on July 1. The company immediately ceased production and distribution and is cooperating with regulatory authorities to return and stop sales and dispose of all suspected products.
Illnesses occurred between Jan. 24 and June 12, the CDC said. Most cases occurred in Florida, but others have been reported in nine other states. The CDC said the cases outside of Florida were from people who had recently visited the state and then traveled home.
The investigation is ongoing, and public health officials continue to interview people about the foods they ate in the month before they became sick. The CDC said of 18 people interviewed, all reported eating ice cream. Among that group, 10 reported eating Big Olaf Creamery brand ice cream or eating ice cream at locations that may have been supplied by the company.
Individuals who reported illnesses related to the recall range in age from less than 1 to 92 years old, with a median age of 72, and live in Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.
A death in a person who was not pregnant was reported from Illinois. Five people became ill while pregnant, and one illness resulted in a fetal loss, according to the CDC. The true number of illnesses in an outbreak may be higher than reported, the CDC said. As of June 30, no new illnesses had been reported.