One of the great things about ice cream is that you can enjoy it all year round. It’s a versatile treat. Sure, it might hit different during those hot summer days, but there’s something to be said about downing a pint of your favorite ice cream during the frigid winter months as well. With that said, if you’re a winter ice cream connoisseur like myself, there’s a new ice cream recall you’ll want to pay attention to.
Earlier this week, the FDA announced a recall involving ice cream from the Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative Association. The recall stems from the fact that the ice cream in question doesn’t list soy or wheat as ingredients. As we’ll get to later on, this can pose a serious danger to individuals with sensitive soy allergies.
How to tell if you have the recalled ice cream
The good news is that this ice cream recall is rather small in scope. Specifically, the ice cream subject to the recall involves pints of Howling Cow Butter Almond Ice Cream. What’s more, the recall only involves one lot of ice cream. Strangely, bits of cookie dough managed to make their way into the Almond Ice Cream. And it’s from there that the presence of wheat and soy became an issue.
The recalled ice cream can be identified by its Sell By date and UPC. The Sell-By Date on relevant containers is September 15, 2022. The UPC, which consumers can find on the bottom of the pint, is 0 74336 65079 6. Further, and speaking to the limited scope of the ice cream recall, the FDA notes that the product was only sold in Harris Teeter stores in North Carolina and South Carolina.
Retailers with the ice cream are being advised to toss it out immediately. Individual consumers should do the same. Even if a consumer doesn’t have a wheat or soy allergy, the mislabeling could prove problematic if served to an otherwise unaware friend or family member.
All told, the company manufactured upwards of 8,000 points of the ice cream.
Consumers with questions about the ice cream recall can call the company at 1-800-552-1976. The hotline is open from Monday through Friday. Its hours of operation are from 9 AM to 4:30 PM Eastern Time.
As a quick aside, here’s a bit of backstory about the company:
Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative is a community of nine hundred dairy farm families in 13 states passionate about cultivating dairy goodness and bottling fresh Maola brand milk and dairy products. Our farmer-owned cooperative owns five dairy processing plants that process more than three billion pounds of milk annually… Our cooperative is a leader in sustainability, partnering across the supply chain to deliver sustainable solutions to our member farms.
The dangers of soy
Some of the more common symptoms of a soy allergy include:
- Vomiting
- Stomach cramps
- Indigestion
- Diarrhea
- Wheezing
- Shortness of breath, difficulty breathing
- Repetitive cough
- Tightness in throat, hoarse voice
- Weak pulse
Other symptoms that could arise include hives, swelling, confusion, and blue coloring of the skin. In more severe cases, it can cause someone to go into shock.
To this point, the American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology writes:
Rarely, a soy allergy will cause anaphylaxis, a potentially life-threatening reaction that impairs breathing, causes a sudden drop in blood pressure and can send the body into shock. The only medication that can treat anaphylaxis is epinephrine (adrenaline), administered through an auto-injector as soon as symptoms are apparent.
Suffice it to say, anyone with the ice cream listed here should throw it away or return it for a full refund.
