(DailyDig.com) – Leona’s Ice Cream in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, issued a recall on July 1 for two of their brands of ice cream due to concerns that peanuts were cross-contaminated in the products.
The products involved are individually wrapped 6-ounce sandwiches of Strawberry Pretzel Salad and Leona’s Ice Cream. Only the stores in Pennsylvania received them.
An alert was issued on July 10 by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to warn customers that the recall was classified as Grade I. The notice stated that the cross-contamination was the reason for the recall. The risk for consumers is specific to those who have peanut allergies.
The number of the recall is F-1473-2024. The representative for Leona informed the media that seven stores in Pittsburgh, PA received 156 sandwiches that had cross-contact.
The representative stated that they became aware of the contamination early on July 1, removed the remaining affected product from each store two and a half hours later, and notified customers the same day. The team returned and destroyed more than half of the products.
On the FDA website, the classifications for recalls (I, II, and III) indicate the severity of the hazards to one’s health from the recalled product. Leona’s recall falls under Class I, the most severe classification. For a Class I recall, exposure to or consumption of the product could cause a reasonable risk of a serious health condition or possibly death.
The difference between the terms cross-contamination and cross-contact is distinct, according to Food Allergy Research Education (FARE). The cross-contact term is relatively new and not yet widely used. The distinction lies in the introduction of a virus or bacteria from another source to the product, typically during storage or preparation.
Cross-contact is the inadvertent transfer of a food allergen to a product that does not contain the food from a product that does contain the food. The difference comes into play because the food is not unsafe, but only for people with an allergy to it.
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