Listeria Outbreak Linked To Big Olaf Ice Cream: CDC

The federal authorities linked the recent listeria outbreak to an ice cream manufacturer in Florida. The listeria outbreak has killed one person and hospitalized 22 people in 10 states in the United States.  

According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a family-owned company, Big Olaf Creamery, which supplies ice creams across Florida, has been linked with the outbreak. The infection linked to Big Olaf Creamery affected people as young as one year old and as old as 92 years old.  

Of those people hospitalized in other states, 10 said that they had visited Florida in the previous month. Also, of 17 people that the CDC interviewed, 14 said that they had consumed ice cream. 5 women became ill during their pregnancy. One of them experienced fetal loss, as reported by the New York Times.  

According to the company website, Big Olaf’s ice cream is made by Amish craftsmen. The company has started contacting the retailers to stop selling the products immediately on the CDC guidelines. The CDC also urged people to discard any remaining or leftover products of the company.  

More than 1,600 people get affected by listeriosis in the United States every year. The biggest reason for the infection is the consumption of contaminated food. The bacteria that causes listeria can be fatal. Listeria infection can cause flu-like symptoms, including vomiting, muscle aches, fever, and diarrhea. It takes about two weeks after contaminated food consumption to develop the disease, the CDC said.  

Previously, listeria outbreaks have been linked to unpasteurized lactose products, raw vegetables, and undercooked poultry, the US Food and Drug Administration said. The severe cases sometimes take months to develop. The older and children are the most vulnerable to the disease, the FDA said.  

According to the CDC data, one out of five people with listeriosis dies of the disease. The infection is severely dangerous for pregnant women as listeria causes fetal loss in 20 percent of cases, CDC said. Big Olaf has not given any statement regarding the link between its product and listeria. However, the company has been continuously contacting the retailers to stop the sale immediately.  

On the other hand, the CDC said that the infection linked to Big Olaf Creamery occurred over the last six months. The federal agencies are now deep digging into the investigation that led to the death of an individual.