Although testing by Blue Bell Creameries in September revealed Listeria contamination and spurred recalls by Blue Bell, three other ice cream companies and a cookie dough manufacturer, a fifth ice cream company just announced a recall, saying it wasn’t notified about the problem until this past week.

recalled Cedar Crest ice cream“Cedar Crest was notified on Nov. 10 that the cookie dough in the referenced products, which is manufactured by Aspen Hills Inc., has the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes,” according to the recall notice posted Friday by Cedar Crest Specialities Inc. of Cedarburg, WI.

“The affected products were distributed in retail stores throughout the Midwest. Cedar Crest Specialties is taking immediate steps to recall all affected products, as a voluntary, preventative safety measure.”

The Food and Drug Administration has been monitoring the Aspen Hills Inc. cookie dough recall, according to recall notices from the Garner, IA, cookie dough company and the other ice cream companies.

However, FDA spokespeople have reported the agency cannot publish a list of Aspen Hills corporate customers because of restrictions about “confidential corporate information.”

Cedar Crest is recalling the following flavors and sizes of ice cream. Consumers should look for the specific production code on the ice cream containers to determine if it has been recalled:

  • Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough flavor in pints, 48-ounce containers and 3-gallon containers with any of the production codes 3826, 3846, 4346 or 4326;
  • Monster Cookie flavor in 3-gallon containers with the production code 3826; and
  • Pirate’s Bounty flavor in 48-ounce containers with the production code 4346.

“Customers who have purchased Cedar Crest Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Monster Cookie and/or Pirate’s Bounty flavors, bearing the affected Product Code Dates and container sizes, are urged to return it to the place of purchase for a full refund,” according to the call notice. “Questions may be directed to 888-628-0730, Monday through Friday.”

No illnesses had been reported in connection with the Cedar Crest brand ice cream as of the posting of the recall on Friday. Anyone who has eaten the recalled ice cream and developed symptoms of infection from Listeria monocytogenes should seek medical attention and inform their doctors about the possible exposure to the pathogen.

Symptoms of Listeria infection can take up to 70 days to develop after exposure. The illnesses can be serious and sometimes fatal in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.

Ongoing recalls related to Aspen Hills cookie dough
logo Aspen Hills Inc.
Also on Friday, one of the other four ice cream companies that has recalled products containing Aspen Hills cookie dough expanded its recall.

Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream Company Inc. of Madison, WI, originally recalled ice cream products with the cookie dough on Oct. 11. Friday’s expansion includes additional lots of several flavors and sizes.

Various ice cream shops, online outlets and grocery stores in 16 states received the lots that have been added to the recall, according to the Chocolate Shoppe recall notice on the FDA’s website.

Consumers can identify the products added to the recall by the following label information.

Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream Co. brand in 3-gallon cartons:

  • Cookie Dough flavor with date codes 10/15/17, 10/21/17, 11/1/17, 11/8/17;
  • Heaps of Love flavor with date codes 10/20/17, 10/28/17, 11/8/17;
  • Peanut Butter Cookie Dough flavor with date codes 10/9/17, 10/18/17, 11/1/17; and
  • Sticks & Stones flavor with date code 10/26/17.

Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream Co. brand pints:

  • Cookie Dough flavor with date code 10/21/17.

The Baked Bear brand 3-gallon cartons:

  • Cookie Dough flavor with date codes 10/13/17, 10/15/17, 10/21/17.

The other specific brands and flavors of ice cream under recall because of the cookie dough, as previously reported by Food Safety News, are:

Blue Bell recallA company spokesperson declined to provide the recall notice Blue Bell received from Aspen Hills, but said “we have suspended all ingredient orders from Aspen Hills indefinitely.” For more information, consumers with questions may call 979-836-7977.

Two Blue Bell flavors in half gallon and pint containers sold to retailers are under recall: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and Cookie Two Step. Three Blue Bell flavors in 3-gallon containers sold to food service customers are under recall: Blue Monster, Chocolate Chip Cookie, and Krazy Kookie Dough. All of the Blue Bell recalled ice cream was produced from Feb. 2 through Sept. 7.

Both the consumer/retail and food service products produced with the cookie dough pieces were distributed by Blue Bell to the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

Blue Bunny recallOnly one seasonal flavor of Blue Bunny ice cream is implicated in the recall, Hoppin’ Holidoodle, which is made with snickerdoodle cookie dough from Aspen Hills. It was distributed in six states: Nebraska, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Arizona and Texas.

The recalled, 46-ounce containers of Blue Bunny Hoppin’ Holidoodle can be identified by UPC and lot numbers as well as best-by dates. The codes to look for are:

UPC number 070640014644, LOT 60001 MM 19115 6228, BEST IF USED BY 02/13/18

UPC 070640014651, LOT 60001 MM 19115 6229, BEST IF USED BY 02/14/18

Anyone with questions about the Blue Bunny ice cream recall should telephone Wells Enterprises, Inc. consumer affairs at 1-800-331-0830.

Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream Company Inc. recall —  The company recalled two brands of ice cream in a total of five flavors in various sizes from 25 states in October.

Unlike the other recalling companies, Chocolate Shoppe included the amount of its ice cream. It is recalling 4,183 3-gallon cartons and 5,296 pints. The company distributed its Baked Bear brand and Chocolate Shoppe brand products to ice cream shops around the country, via online outlets and to limited grocery stores.

Consumers may contact the company at 800-466-8043 or via email at info@chocolateshoppeicecream.com. Recalled ice cream flavors from the Chocolate Shoppe can be identified by the following label information.

Chocolate Shoppe branded 3-gallon cartons of:

  • Cookie Dough 12/29/17, 12/19/17, 12/13/17, 12/6/17, 11/26/17 & 11/15/17
  • Heaps of Love 12/29/17, 11/24/17 & 11/8/17
  • Peanut Butter Cookie Dough 12/1/17 & 11/18/17
  • Sticks & Stones 12/27/17, 12/2/17 & 11/10/17
  • Yippee Skippee 12/1/17

Chocolate Shoppe branded pints cartons of:

  • Cookie Dough 12/13/17, 12/9/17 & 11/26/17

Baked Bear branded 3-gallon cartons of:

  • Cookie Dough 12/6/17, 11/26/17 & 11/15/17

Publix recall —  Only one flavor of Publix branded ice cream is implicated in the recall, Publix Premium Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream.

The recalled ice cream was sold at Publix stores in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee and North Carolina. It can be identified by the UPC number of 000-41415-03843 and a sell by date of May 27 2017, which is printed on the bottom of the half-gallon containers.

Publix customers with questions can call the company at 800-242-1227.

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