Fans of Giant Eagle ice cream bars, listen up. Recently, the retailer issued a voluntary nationwide recall of ice cream bars “that may contain a bacterium that can cause fatal infections,” listeria. The frozen treats are produced and distributed by Fieldbrook Foods Corp., a New York-based company, “under merchant brands.”

Giant Eagle Store; Image Courtesy of WYTV.com

So how can average consumers tell if they have one of the recalled boxes of ice cream bars? For starters, all the recalled products “have a production date of Jan. 1, 2017, to Dec. 31, 2017, and a 'best by' date of Jan. 1, 2018, to Dec. 31, 2018,” according to the recall notice. The specific products beings recalled are as follows:

• 12-packs of traditional Giant Eagle ice cream bars

• 12-packs of Giant Eagle orange ice cream bars

• 30-count variety packs of Giant Eagle ice cream bars

The potential contamination was discovered during routine testing, and fortunately, no one has reported falling ill from consuming the ice cream bars. So if no one has fallen ill, why issue such a massive recall? Well, for those who don't know, Listeria monocytogenes contamination is a serious matter because it can “cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.” In a press release discussing listeria and it's potential effects, Fieldbrook Foods Corp. said:“Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea, listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.”For now, customers are being advised to throw away the recalled products or return them for a refund.

Sources:

Giant Eagle recalls ice cream barsGiant Eagle ice cream bars recalled for listeria contamination