Three ice cream producers and Publix grocery stores are recalling ice cream that was made with cookie dough produced by a third party vendor, and now a chocolate chip bar by Nutrisystem is being recalled. That vendor, Aspen Hills, recalled the cookie dough because it may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes bacteria in fall 2016. We are collecting the recalls here as they may continue and the recalls may expand over the coming weeks and months.
Aspen Hills allegedly found some “food safety issues” at their plant, even though none of the pathogenic bacteria was found in their products or in the facility. That prompted the recall “out of an abundance of caution.” The cookie dough was sent to twenty-seven manufacturers that bought the product.
There is zero tolerance for the presence of Listeria monocytogenes in ready to eat foods. This bacteria can cause serious illness, especially in the young, the elderly, pregnant women, and those with compromised immune systems. The symptoms of listeriosis include high fever, severe headache, neck stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Some people may only have mild flu-like symptoms. The symptoms can take as long as 70 days to appear after exposure to the bacteria. No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with any of these recalled products.
If you do have any of these ice cream products in your home freezer, throw them away or return them to the place of purchase for a refund. It’s important that you then clean out your freezer with a mild bleach solution to kill any Listeria bacteria. Freezing does not kill this bacteria, and it can grow at refrigerator temperatures.
Blue Bell is recalling all of its products that include cookie dough from Aspen Hills. They include Blue Bell Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and Blue Bell Cookie Two Step sold to retail outlets in pint and half gallon sizes, and three gallon flavors sold to food service accounts including Blue Bell Blue Monster, Blue Bell Chocolate Chip Cookie, and Blue Bell Krazy Kookie Dough. They were sold in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.
Blue Bunny is recalling one flavor of ice cream that was made with snickerdoodle cookie dough from Aspen Hills. Hoppin’ Hollidoodle Ice Cream in 46 ounce containers is recalled. One of the UPC numbers of this recalled product is 070640014644 and the lot number is 60001 MM 19115 6228. The best if used by date for the product with those numbers is 02/13/18. The other UPC number of this ice cream is 070640014651, with lot number 60001 MM 19115 6229, and best if used by date 02/14/18. The ice cream was sold in Nebraska, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Arizona, and Texas. No other Blue Bunny products are recalled.
Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream Recall
Chocolate Shoppe is recalling ice cream that was sold in ice cream shops, through online outlets, and in some grocery stores. The recalled products are Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream Co. 3 Gallon Cartons; Cookie Dough Ice Cream with codes 12/29/17, 12/19/17, 12/13/17, 12/6/17, 11/26/17 and 11/15/17; Heaps of Love Ice Cream with codes 12/29/17, 11/24/17 and 11/8/17; and Peanut Butter Cookie Dough with codes 12/1/17 and 11/18/17. Also recalled is Sticks & Stones with codes 12/27/17, 12/2/17 and 11/10/17; Yippee Skippee with codes 12/1/17; Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream Co. Pints; Cookie Dough Ice Cream with codes 12/13/17, 12/9/17 and 11/26/17; The Baked Bear brand 3 Gallon Cartons; and Cookie Dough with codes 12/6/17, 11/26/17 and 11/15/17. Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin, and West Virginia.
Publix is recalling Publix Premium Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream. It was sold in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee, and North Carolina. The product has a UPC number 000-41415-03843 and a sell by date of May 27, 2017.
Nutrisystem is recalling Nutricrush Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bar because it contains a cookie dough ingredient that may be contaminated with Listeria bacteria. It was sold in ShopRite and Hannaford stores in Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont, and online through Amazon.com and Walmart.com. The bar was sold as a 5-count carton. The product can be identified by the UPC number 6 32674 85579 4, Enjoy by Aug 22 2017, and Lot Code NF082216A.
