Listeria monocytogenes Contamination of Ice Cream: a Rare Event That Occurred Twice in the Last Two Years

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that approximately 1,600 illnesses and 260 deaths due to Listeria monocytogenes occur annually in the United States. Most of these infections are caused by ingestion of contaminated food. The most common foods are soft cheeses, deli meats, hot dogs, raw milk, packaged salads, and cantaloupes. Thus, it was unusual for infections to occur from ice cream manufactured by Blue Bell Creameries of Brenham, Texas, in 2015, and it was even more unusual that a second ice cream manufacturer, Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams based in Columbus, Ohio, isolated L. monocytogenes from their ice cream at almost exactly the same time.