The Big Olaf Ice Cream Listeria monocytogenes outbreak joins a list of other brands that have caused illnesses over the past decade. The CDC has named Big Olaf ice cream in the new outbreak centered in Florida that has sickened at least 23 people. A recall has not been issued, but the company is contacting their customers to “recommend” against selling their products.
Big Olaf ice cream is only sold in Florida, where most of the ill persons live. And among the 82% of patients who ate ice cream before they got sick and were interviewed by government officials, six said they ate Big Olaf Creamery brand ice cream or ate at restaurants where that ice cream was served.
Over the years there have been dozens of recalls of ice cream for possible Listeria contamination. In fact, in 2019 the FDA improved ice cream production safety after a string of recalls for Listeria monocytogenes contamination. During an investigation that year, the FDA found Listeria monocytogenes in 19 of the 89 ice cream establishments, and in 65 of the 5,295 subsamples.
FoodWorld 