A Washington ice cream producer has issued a voluntary recall of any of its products that were sold anytime in 2014, because of possible Listeria contamination.
According to an announcement by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Washington-based Snoqualmie Gourmet Ice Cream, Inc. has pulled all of its products from its distributors. While the products, including were initially believed to have been sold in Arizona, Idaho, California, Oregon, and Washington, it is now believed that some of the product may have been distributed to other states as well, including Texas.
The product subject to the recall includes all flavors of ice cream, gelato, custard and sorbet in all container sizes that were produced on or after January 1, 2014, through December 15, 2014. They were sold under various product labels, and include Snoqualmie Ice Cream, Snoqualmie Gelato, Snoqualmie Custard, Snoqualmie Sorbet. Emerald & Spruce Ice Cream or Top Pot Hand Forged Ice Cream. The bottom of the product packages contain a production date code that ends in “4”. For example, pints and cups will have a date code like XXX4, while trays and tubs wil have a clearly expressed date between January 1, 2014 and December 15, 2014 (trays & tubs).
According to the Washington State Department of Agriculture, routine testing uncovered Listeria in samples that came from the company’s plant in Snohomish, Washington. At this time, neither health officers nor company officials are certain what caused the contamination.
The Listeria monocytogenes organism can result serious and sometimes fatal infections in very young children, as well as the elderly or those with weakened or compromised immune systems. The symptoms of Listeriosis can begin to appear anytime up to eight weeks after exposure, although they usually show up within the first 2-3 weeks. Often, otherwise healthy people may only experience short-term “flu-like” symptoms like headache, fever, body aches or stiffness, others may experience nausea, abdominal pain and even severe diarrhea. In some extreme cases, Listeriosis can lead to cancer, diabetes or kidney disease. It can also affect the central nervous system, and lead to loss of motor control or convulsions in some cases.
Pregnant women are at special risk from Listeria infection, because it can lead to an increased risk of miscarriage or stillbirth. It is also possible to pass Listeriosis on to her newborn baby, to whom it is fatal between 25% and 50% of the time.
If you have any of these ice cream products, please either throw them away or return them to the store for a refund. If you or a loved one has become sick or died as a result of eating this or any other contaminated food product, please contact the highly experienced Texas Food Contamination Lawyer at Hill Law Firm as soon as possible, in order to protect your rights under the law.