Listeria illnesses have prompted a recall of Snoqualmie, Emerald & Spruce, and Top Pot ice cream products sold at Safeway, QFC, Fred Meyer, Whole Foods, PCC, Bartell Drugs, Metropolitan Market and Albertsons. The recall includes all ice cream, gelato, custard and sorbet produced during 2014.
Customers who have purchased Snoqualmie, Emerald & Spruce or Top Poot ice cream products during 2014 including ice cream, gelato, custard and sorbet should not eat them. Health officials have matched the Listeria strain found at the manufacturing facility and in the product to the strain found in the two people who became ill. The recalled products were distributed in Arizona, Idaho, California, Oregon, and Washington may have also have been sold in Alaska, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.
The illnesses, both in the Seattle area, were men in their 50s, who became ill at the end of November and the beginning of December. The men, who both had underlying health conditions, have been released from area hospitals and are recovering at home. 
Listeria causes symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiff neck, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea. Almost everyone who contracts listeriosis requires hospitalization. About 15 percent of cases are fatal. Listeria can cause miscarriages, stillbirths and premature deliver among pregnant women.
The recall also also prompted the temporary closure of six Molly Moon’s locations in the Seattle area. Molly Moon’s, which pasteurizes its ice cream ingredients at the Snoqualmie facility, composted 3,000 gallons of ice cream that were potentially contaminated and sterilized all of its tubs, equipment and utensils, the owner told KIRO-TV. The composted ice cream was worth more than $25,000. The stores are scheduled to reopen today.
