Potentially Deadly Listeria Prompts Publix Ice Cream Recall

LAKELAND, FL — Fans of Publix Premium Chocolate Chip Cooke Dough Ice Cream might want to check their freezers. The grocery chain has announced a recall of the product after concerns about possible Listeria contamination arose from the third-party maker of the cookie dough pieces.

Listeria monocytogenes bacteria is known to cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children and people who are frail, elderly or have weakened immune systems. Generally healthy people who are exposed to Listeria can suffer short-term symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, severe headache, nausea and high fever. Listeria has been linked to miscarriages and stillbirths, as well.

"As part of our commitment to food safety, potentially impacted product has been removed from all store shelves,” Maria Brous, Publix spokeswoman, said in a statement.

The recall was prompted when Aspen Hills, the third-party supplier of the cookie dough pieces used in Publix ice cream, notified the grocer that some of its product could be contaminated with Listeria. The Publix recall is voluntary and affects ice cream sold in stores in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, Tennessee and South Carolina.

Details of the recalled item are as follows:

• Half gallons of Publix Premium Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream – The product has a UPC of 000-41415-03843 and a sell by date of May 27, 2017. The information is printed on the bottom of half-gallon containers.

Brous said no cases of illness have been reported yet. People who have purchased the product are asked to return it to their local store for a full refund. Publix customers with questions may call the Customer Care Department at 1-800-242-1227. More information is also available on the Publix website, as is the full news release related to the recall.

Blue Bell Ice Cream also recalled some of its cookie dough products recently following the discovery of possible Listeria contamination in Aspen Hills’ cookie dough pieces.

Patch file photo