We just saw a public health alert concerning chicken salad that might have been contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. That’s a bacteria that can cause severe illness in specific categories of people. The routine detection of Listeria in sample testing will trigger such recalls like that. They can lead to alerts or even full-blown recalls if the product is still available for sale in stores. This brings us to The Royal Ice Cream Company recall. It involves different ice cream flavors that might have been contaminated with the same potentially dangerous bacteria.
The Royal Ice Cream Company recall
The Royal Ice Cream Company issued the product recall a few days ago. The official announcement is available at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by following this link.
The company explains that routine FDA sampling revealed the presence of Listeria on processing equipment. Therefore, Royal Ice Cream recalled specific lots of Batch-branded products. These three ice cream flavors might be contaminated with Listeria: Ice Cream Brand Vanilla, Ginger, and Mocha Chip Ice Cream.
The ice cream products in the recall were not available nationwide. The company sold them only through Market Baskets in Massachusetts, Big Y Stores in Massachusetts, and CT & Roach Brothers Markets in Massachusetts.
The products come in 16oz paper containers featuring Batch Ice Cream branding. The flavors appear on the front of the package, as you can see in the images below. Customers should be looking for products with a “Date of Manufacture” of 1/19/22 and a “Best By” date of 7/19/23. You’ll find the data on the bottom of the paper cup. On top of that, buyers should locate the following UPCs:
- Vanilla — 837654968505
- Ginger — 83765496856
- Mocha chip — 83765496853
Listeria infection symptoms
Listeria infection can lead to severe illness in young children, frail or elderly people, and people with weakened immune systems. Furthermore, pregnant women who consume contaminated foods like the Royal Ice Cream products in the recall might endanger their pregnancies. Consuming tainted foods could lead to miscarriages, stillbirths, and premature deliveries.
Healthy adults might experience short-term symptoms. The list includes high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Some of these symptoms commonly appear with other illnesses, of course. The only way to diagnose listeriosis correctly is via testing.
What you should do
The Royal Ice Cream Company says there have been no reports of illness at this time. However, if you think you’ve developed listeriosis after eating one of the three ice cream flavors in the recall, you should contact your doctor.
The company urges customers who bought any of the three ice cream flavors to stop eating them. The ice cream products have a long shelf life, and you might still have them in your freezer. In addition, Royal Ice Cream instructs buyers to return the recalled products to the place of purchase for a full refund.
Make sure you check out the full announcement at this link for more details about the recall. Finally, you’ll find more information about listeriosis at the Mayo Clinic website.
