Ice cream enthusiasts, brace yourselves—there’s a recall in town.
Friendly’s Ice Cream has pulled one of its most loved flavors after receiving a warning from the Food and Drug Administration about potential allergic reactions. This issue could lead to serious, or even life-threatening, allergies.
DFA Dairy Brands, LLC has voluntarily removed 324 cartons of 48 oz cookies and cream ice cream from stores because they were mislabeled. The lids were for cookies and cream but were wrapped in containers meant for vanilla bean.
The vanilla bean variant lacks the soy and wheat found in the cookies and cream flavor, which is why, according to the FDA, the cartons for vanilla bean don’t mention those ingredients.
“Many people, well, they often experience abdominal pain when reacting to soy and wheat, but symptoms can also include rashes or even asthma,” explains Dr. Joseph Laduazzo, a Massachusetts-based internal medicine specialist.
“For individuals with severe allergies to soy and wheat, reactions can be really dangerous—it’s similar to how people with peanut allergies react when exposed to nuts.”
The FDA has reported that, so far, no illnesses or side effects have emerged from this packaging error.
The affected ice cream was distributed from a single center to retail outlets across Virginia and Pennsylvania.
This recall was announced due to the FDA’s findings regarding the packaging mishap, stating that the 324 ice cream cartons present an allergic risk that could lead to “severe or life-threatening allergic reactions.”
Importantly, other Friendly’s products are not affected, as indicated by a message on the Friendly Consumer Hotline.
Interestingly, just last month, Florida-based Rich’s Ice Cream recalled over 100,000 ice cream bars across 23 states, including New York and Pennsylvania, due to Listeria concerns. That’s quite a significant recall in the world of ice cream.
