A Listeria recall for Big Olaf ice cream includes restaurants, ice cream shops, and senior homes in Florida and Ohio. Big Olaf Creamery of Sarasota, FL issued the recall on July 13, 2022, 11 days after health officials told the company that a deadly Listeria outbreak had been epidemiologically linked to the ice cream. The outbreak includes 23 people from 10 states. One person has died and one pregnant woman has suffered a miscarriage.
Big Olaf issued the recall on the same day that the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services issued a “stop sales” order for 16 flavors of Big Olaf ice cream that tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes, Erin Moffet, a department spokesperson said in a statement. Florida Ag officials tested 17 flavors of Big Olaf ice cream. Of those, 16 were positive for Listeria monocytogenes. In addition, 10 of 100 environmental swabs taken from the manufacturing facility were positive for Listeria.
Big Olaf Ice Cream Listeria Recall
Big Olaf makes dozens of flavors of ice cream. The recall includes all flavors and lot codes with expiration dates through 6/30/2022. The recalled ice cream was sold to consumers in plastic pint and half-gallon containers; ice cream shops served the ice cream from 2.5-gallon tubs.
According to NPR.org, the 16 flavors that tested positive were:
- Blueberry Cheesecake
- Butter Pecan
- Cherry Cordial
- Chocolate
- Chocolate Chip
- Coconut
- Coconut Almond Joy
- Cookie Dough
- Cookies & Cream
- Kahlua Krunch
- Mint Chip
- Pistachio
- Plantation Praline
- Superman
- Vanilla
- White Chocolate Raspberry
Where is Big Olaf Sold?
Some Big Olaf vendors include the following Florida locations:
- Beverly’s Ice Cream, Clearwater Beach
- Fantastic Fudge, Fernandina Beach
- Good Ole Days, Punta Gorda
- The Ice Cream Shop, Lehigh Acres
- Sprinkles Ice Cream Shop and Retro Candy
- Sundial Beach Resort and Spa, Sanibel Island
- Super Scoops, Treasure Island
- Tedi’s Olde Tyme Ice Cream, St. Augustine
- Twistee Treat, North Ft. Meyers
Big Olaf also operates shops in St. Armands, Pinecraft, Siesta Key, Lakewood Ranch, Bee Ridge Plaza, Venice, Clearwater Beach, Treasure Island, and St. Pete Beach, FL. The recall notice did not provide information about the Ohio vendor or the senior homes that provided Big Olaf ice cream to their residents.
Who is at Greatest Risk?
Listeria poses a heightened risk to some groups of people including seniors, people with compromised immune systems, and pregnant women who can suffer a miscarriage, stillbirth, or premature delivery of an infected newborn. In this outbreak, half of the patients are between 72 and 92 years old. And five of the patients are women who developed listeriosis while they were pregnant. One of them suffered a miscarriage.
Symptoms of Listeria infection can take as long as 70 days to develop. They include high fever, severe headache, stiff neck, other muscle stiffness, confusion, loss of balance, and convulsions.
Health officials used whole genome sequencing to identify the genetic fingerprint of the Listeria associated with this outbreak. Most of the patients live in or traveled to Florida before they became ill on dates ranging from January 24, 2021, through June 12, 2022.
Experienced Listeria Lawyers
If you developed a Listeria infection after eating Big Olaf ice cream and would like to discuss your legal options, please contact our Listeria lawyers. Our Food Safety Team has more experience handling Listeria lawsuits than any other law firm in the country securing some of the largest Listeria settlements in U.S. history including a recent award of $6.4 million.
You can reach us by calling 1-888-377-8900, sending a text to 612-261-0856, or completing the form below. There is no obligation and we don’t get paid unless we win.