Brooklyn-based ice cream manufacturer Real Kosher Ice Cream has issued a recall of its 8-ounce cups of “Soft Serve on the Go” ice cream and sorbet after a listeria contamination sent two people — one in Pennsylvania and one in New York — to the hospital, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The cups were distributed to 20 states, including Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said. They were sold in grocery stores and convenience stores and have been distributed to schools, camps and nursing homes across the country.
Soft Serve on the Go comes in six flavors, all of which are recalled: caramel, peanut butter, vanilla chocolate, parve vanilla chocolate, Razzle and strawberry mango sorbet. Both infected people said they ate the vanilla chocolate ice cream. No deaths have been reported.
Real Kosher has ceased producing its Soft Serve on the Go products as an investigation into what caused the listeria contamination continues.
The bacteria was found in an ice cream cup in a sick person’s freezer. Scientists are working to determine if the infected cup carries the outbreak strain of listeria, the CDC says.
Anyone who purchased the ice cream should throw it away or take it back to the store for a full refund. The FDA says listeria can survive in freezing temperatures.
Listeriosis is an infection caused by the Listeria monocytogenes germ. The infection usually occurs after eating contaminated food and primarily affects pregnant women, newborns, older adults and people with weak immune systems.
Symptoms, which include headaches, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, convulsions, fever and muscle aches, usually begin two weeks after consuming listeria-contaminated food but can occur as early as the same day or as late as 10 weeks after consumption.
For pregnant women, a listeria infection can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth and premature delivery.
Listeria is the third leading cause of death from food poisoning in the U.S. Each year, about 1,600 people get sick from listeria, and about 260 die as result.
Anyone experiencing listeriosis symptoms is urged to contact their health care provider.