Listeria Linked to Ice Cream Sickens 2 New Yorkers: CDC

NEW YORK — Marler Clark, a food safety law firm in Seattle, was retained by the family of an Illinois woman who died from a Listeria outbreak, which hospitalized nearly two dozen others, including two people from the Empire State.

The state health department deferred to the city health department, which is still investigating whether the victims are from the Big Apple or other parts of the state.

As public health officials across 10 states continue to investigate, a preliminary report from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention on Saturday has linked the infection to Big Olaf Creamery, which makes ice cream and other frozen products at Sarasota’s Amish village of Pinecraft in Florida.

Consumers who have Big Olaf Creamery brand ice cream, which is only sold in Florida, should throw away any remaining product, according to the CDC report.

Of the 22 people who were hospitalized, 17 were interviewed, 14 reported eating ice cream and six reported eating from the Big Olaf brand or at a location that provided it, added the CDC report, which said the sick people ranged from less to 1 to 92 years. Five of the victims were pregnant and one had a fetal loss.

The true number of people infected by the outbreak may be even higher, but it takes three to four weeks to determine if someone is a part of one, said the CDC.

Big Olaf Creamery voluntarily contacted retail locations to recommend against selling their ice cream products, according to the report on Saturday.

The ice cream brand also reached out to its customers on Facebook.

“There has been an outbreak of listeria in our area and Big Olaf Creamery-St Armands has temporarily closed until this is all cleared up,” the ice cream brand said in a statement on Monday. “There is a small connection between people getting listeria and Big Olaf ice cream. The production has shut down and is going through some testing at this time. We feel it is best to stop selling the questionable ice cream until the production gets the ok to start up again.”

While Big Olaf is complying with health officials, it has also accused the Florida Health Department on Tuesday of reaching out to the media before the company about the alleged Listeria connection, which is at the heart of the wrongful death lawsuit filed Tuesday from the Illinois family of Mary Billman.

“We don’t understand why they waited until Friday afternoon to contact us, this being such [a] serious and time sensitive matter,” Big Olaf posted on Facebook. “The misinformation by the media has caused the production and most of their customers to get harassed and threatened. It is very sad and unfair. We have passed almost every inspection with 100 percent and nothing has even been proven so we do feel targeted for sure, and we still haven’t heard about what the other 17 patients had to say or what they consumed that may have caused them to get sick.”

The CDC has asked patient to give an account to what they ate for a month prior to falling ill, according to the report.

One Florida Health Department spokeswoman said the outbreak was linked to the Amish creamery, but when asked for further details about the investigation or the lack of communication with Big Olaf, she did not elaborate.

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has provided tips about Listeria at this website: www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/health/health-topics/listeriosis.page.