Staying Fit
Almost 100 ice cream and sherbet products sold under multiple brand names were recalled due to possible contamination with listeria, according to a notice from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
What to Do With Recalled Ice Cream
Anyone who purchased a recalled product should throw it away or return it to the place of purchase for a refund. Those with additional questions may contact Velvet Ice Cream at 800-589-5000 (Ext. 237) from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday. Or visit its website at velveticecream.com/contact-us.
The voluntary recall applies to seven brands sold by Ohio-based Velvet Ice Cream and made on or after March 24. The brands are:
- Buehler's
- Discount Drug Mart
- North Star
- Ruggle's
- Super Dip
- Velvet
- Whale of a Pail
Although no illnesses have been linked to the products, the issue was identified as a result of the company's routine testing.
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The ice cream was sold in drug stores, convenience stores and supermarkets in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia. Check the FDA's recall notice for a full list of the recalled products with corresponding product codes, found at the bottom or side of each container.
"We're conducting this voluntary recall in cooperation with the FDA out of consideration for the well-being and safety of our customers and consumers,” Velvet Ice Cream CEO Luconda Dager said in a statement. “We continue to be committed to serving consumers with high quality ice cream and sherbet products."
Symptoms of a listeria infection
Listeriosis, the infection caused by eating food contaminated with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, most often causes sickness in adults 65 and older, people with weakened immune systems, pregnant women and newborns. Symptoms may include headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, fever, muscle aches and convulsions. Pregnant women typically experience only fever, fatigue and muscle aches, but a listeria infection during pregnancy can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth, premature delivery or life-threatening infection of the newborn.
People usually report symptoms one to four weeks after eating food contaminated with listeria. But some people have reported symptoms from as early as the day of exposure to as late as 70 days after.
About 1,600 people in the U.S. get listeriosis each year, resulting in about 260 deaths, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates. Americans 65 and over are four times as likely as others to get a listeria infection.
Listeriosis is diagnosed by testing a sample of body tissue or fluid, such as blood, spinal fluid or the placenta. It is treated with antibiotics.
Aaron Kassraie writes about issues important to military veterans and their families for AARP. He also serves as a general assignment reporter. Kassraie previously covered U.S. foreign policy as a correspondent for the Kuwait News Agency's Washington bureau and worked in news gathering for USA Today and Al Jazeera English.
