On April 26, Velvet Ice Cream announced the recall of all ice cream and sherbet products produced by the Ohio-based company on or after March 24, 2021, in cooperation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The products were pulled from the market after it was discovered that they may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, which was discovered during “routine testing” of the company’s facilities. The products, which were sold at supermarkets, drug stores, and convenience stores in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia, can be returned to their place of purchase for a full refund, the company said in a statement. Those who choose not to return the ice cream and sherbet “should dispose of it immediately,” the company states. The full list of recalled products can be found on the Velvet Ice Cream website. And for the latest health and safety news delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter. Individuals who consume the recalled Velvet products may become seriously ill. Among the most common symptoms of infection with listeria are abdominal pain, diarrhea, high fever, nausea, severe headache, and stiffness, the bacterium can cause miscarriages and stillbirths in pregnant individuals, and may be fatal for young children, the elderly, and immunocompromised individuals. No illnesses or injuries related to the consumption of the affected Velvet Ice Cream products had been reported at the time the recall notice was issued. Anyone with questions about the recall can contact Velvet Ice Cream at 800-589-5000, extension 237, between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. Velvet Ice Cream has been subject to listeria contamination concerns before. In 2019, the FDA announced that it had discovered listeria monocytogenes bacteria during an inspection of Velvet Ice Cream’s Utica, Ohio manufacturing facility. In a warning letter issued to the company, FDA Division 5 director Steven B. Barber wrote that the same type of bacteria had been found at company facilities before. “Environmental swabs collected during our 2018 inspection revealed L. monocytogenes in nine swabs within your facility and environmental swabs collected during our 2017 inspection revealed L. monocytogenes in three swabs within your facility…The same strain of L. monocytogenes was identified in seven isolates from environmental samples collected during the 2019 inspection and eight isolates collected during the 2018 inspection.” Barber concluded that these repeated findings were clear examples that Velvet Ice Cream’s “sanitation procedures have been inadequate.” And for more products that could be putting your health at risk, If You Take This Popular Vitamin, Stop Immediately, FDA Warns. In 2012, the Indiana State Department of Health announced the recall of seven of Velvet’s peanut butter-based ice creams due to salmonella contamination concerns.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb “The wellbeing of Velvet Ice Cream customers and the quality of our products is of the utmost importance to our company,” said Velvet Ice Cream President Luconda Dager in a statement, explaining that the company “took immediate steps to investigate all peanut products shipped to our company and voluntarily removed any product that may contain tainted ingredients.” And if you want to protect your safety, If You’re Using This to Make Coffee, Stop Immediately, Experts Warn.
