Big Olaf ice cream: 16 flavors test positive for listeria, state says
State regulators found that samples from 16 of 17 ice cream flavors from the Big Olaf Creamery production facility in Sarasota County tested positive for the listeria bacteria, prompting a formal stop sales order by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services late Friday.
The products had already been part of a voluntary recall, and agency spokeswoman Erin Moffet said in a statement that the department "continues to work closely with our state and federal partners on this investigation and enforcement of the stop sale."
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The flavors that tested positive were: Blueberry Cheesecake, Butter Pecan, Cherry Cordial, Chocolate, Cookie Dough, Chocolate Chip, Coconut, Coconut Almond Joy, Cookies & Cream, Kahlua Krunch, Mint Chip, Pistachio, Plantation Praline, Superman, Vanilla and White Chocolate Raspberry.
The Department of Agriculture had also sampled equipment at the facility and had released those results earlier this week, saying that nine of 100 samples had tested positive for the bacteria that causes listeriosis, a deadly foodborne illness that infects about 1,600 people per year. Another outstanding sample that was taking awhile to produce a result also came back positive, bringing the total number of positive samples to 10, Moffet said.
The news of positive product samples comes almost two weeks after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention first linked a listeria outbreak to Big Olaf Creamery's ice cream. Despite warnings from the public health agency, however, the company's production facility initially dismissed the claims as "only speculation," and several Big Olaf retail locations continued to sell the product.
The CDC says 23 illnesses have been reported, with 22 hospitalizations and one death, though officials acknowledge the actual number is probably higher. The people affected have been from 10 states. No new illnesses have been reported since June 30.
It wasn't until the company issued a recall on Friday, July 8 that all Big Olaf retailers were required to return ice cream to the production plant.
According to the CDC web site, the recalled ice cream has been sold at or served at Big Olaf retailers, restaurants, and senior homes in Florida and in one location in Fredericksburg, Ohio.
All flavors, lots, and expiration dates through June 30, 2022 of Big Olaf brand ice cream products have been recalled.
The ice cream was sold to consumers in plastic pint-size containers and plastic half-gallon containers, the CDC says. The ice cream was sold to independent retail stores in plastic 2.5-gallon scoopable tubs.
Retailers pivot
"The point is this - IF there is an ongoing 'listeria outbreak' where and who is being affected by it? There are no 'news' reports of any cases locally, the cases initially reported were from more than two weeks ago. So why are not there more cases?" Eszter Bazso, the owner of Big Olaf locations on South Tamiami Trail and Cattlemen Road, wrote via email July 5. "There have been thousands and thousands of servings of ice cream since then. There has not been a recall of these products and Big Olaf Creamery did not recommend discarding any of the products."
Bazso has since pivoted to selling McClain's ice cream at her two Sarasota shops. She has also renamed them on Facebook, changing the Cattlemen Road location from "Bigolafdream" to "Dream Ice Cream." On Thursday, the shop said on Facebook that all the freezers and machines had been professionally cleaned.
Big Olaf Creamery's Cattlemen Road production facility has been sued twice since the outbreak started - once regarding the death of an Illinois woman whose family said she contracted a deadly case of listeria after eating its ice cream, and another time in the illness of a Massachusetts woman who claimed eating Big Olaf's ice cream caused her to miscarry.
Legal experts say shops that continued to sell the product after the CDC warning went out could subject them to even further liability.
Listeriosis causes about 260 deaths per year in the U.S., according to the CDC. The bacteria is not something health inspectors find in routine check-ups, so it's on businesses to have strong environmental monitoring programs to check for it, scientific experts have said.
It can come into a facility through unpasteurized milk, fruit or nuts and it can live indefinitely until it's discovered and dealt with. Once discovered, it can be hard to clean, because it gets into the nooks and crannies of machines. A combination of scrubbing and proper chemicals have to be used to get it out, experts have said.
Since the outbreak, several Big Olaf retail locations besides Bazso's have pivoted to selling other ice cream. The Venice store has been selling Hershey's and the St. Armands Circle location uses Yoder's Southern Creamery.
Investigation continues
The recall was issued at the advice of the state health department and its partner agencies, according to a state official. The health department had previously advised Big Olaf to not sell its own ice cream after the listeria link was discovered, but several of the company's locations continued to do so anyway.
The Department of Agriculture collected samples July 5 from the Big Olaf production facility, from which ice cream is distributed to independently owned Big Olaf licensed locations and to other retail partners, like Twistee Treat in North Fort Myers and Beverly's Ice Cream in Clearwater Beach.
The CDC warned the anyone who has the recalled Big Olaf Creamery ice cream at home to throw it away and clean any areas, containers and serving utensils that may have touched recalled ice cream.
Businesses are advised to "clean and disinfect any areas and equipment that may have touched recalled ice cream products, including ice cream scoops and other serving utensils."
According to the CDC, 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.
They advise people to call their health care provider right away if they have any of these listeria symptoms: Pregnant people typically experience only fever, fatigue, and muscle aches. However, Listeria infections during pregnancy can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth, premature delivery, or life-threatening infection of the newborn, the CDC says.
People who are not pregnant may experience headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and convulsions, in addition to fever and muscle aches.
The CDC said 12 of the sick people reported are residents of Florida and nine said they traveled to Florida before getting sick. "Illnesses started on dates ranging from Jan. 24, 2021, through June 12, 2022," a summary of the CDC investigation says.
Those sickened range in age from less under 1 year old to 92 years. Five people got sick during their pregnancy, and one person’s illness resulted in a fetal loss, the agency said.
Recent illnesses may not have been reported yet because of the lag time in determining if a person who's sick is part of the outbreak.
"Public health officials continue to interview people about the foods they ate before they got sick," the CDC said. "...Seven ill people were identified as part of three illness clusters in this outbreak. An illness cluster is defined as two or more people who do not live in the same household who report eating food from the same retail location before becoming ill.
"If several unrelated ill people ate food from the same retail location, it suggests that the contaminated food item was served or sold there. All three illness clusters were at retail locations that sell Big Olaf Creamery ice cream."
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Big Olaf ice cream listeria outbreak: Which flavors tested positive
