Outbreak Investigation of Listeria monocytogenes: Ice Cream (July 2022)

The FDA, along with CDC, is assisting the Florida Department of Health (FL DOH) and Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services (FDACS) in investigating an outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes infections linked to ice cream supplied by Big Olaf Creamery of Sarasota, Florida. As of August 2, 2022, CDC reports 25 illnesses in 11 states.

This is an ongoing investigation, and the FDA is continuing to work with the FL DOH and FDACS to investigate. FDA will update this advisory should additional consumer safety information become available.

Recommendation

Consumers, restaurants, and retailers should not eat, sell, or serve any recalled Big Olaf ice cream products and should throw the product away, regardless of the “Best By” or expiration date.

Listeria is most likely to sicken pregnant people and their newborns, adults aged 65 or older, and people with weakened immune systems. Other people can be infected with Listeria, but they rarely become seriously ill.

Call your healthcare provider right away if you have these symptoms after eating Big Olaf ice cream products:

• Pregnant people typically experience only fever, fatigue, and muscle aches. However, Listeria infection during pregnancy can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth, premature delivery, or life-threatening infection of the newborn.
• People who are not pregnant may experience headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and convulsions, in addition to fever and muscle aches.

Consumers, restaurants, and retailers who purchased or received any recalled Big Olaf ice cream products should throw the products away, follow FDA’s safe handling and cleaning advice and use extra vigilance in cleaning and sanitizing any surfaces and containers that may have come in contact with these products to reduce the risk of cross-contamination. Listeria can survive in refrigerated temperatures and can easily spread to other foods and surfaces.