The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) assigned its highest risk alert this week to 1,452 units of vanilla ice cream sold in four states.
Concerns about the potential for undeclared eggs led the Publix grocery retailer to recall its Rich & Creamy Vanilla Ice Cream last month.
The recalled ice cream is sold in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and Kentucky, according to a Nov. 18 FDA
enforcement report.The dessert is described on its packaging as “velvety vanilla ice cream made with an egg custard base, real milk and cream, vanilla extract and ground vanilla beans.”
The FDA previously expressed concern in an
Oct. 17 alert that the Publix Rich & Creamy Vanilla Ice Cream half-gallon container may contain Publix Rich & Creamy French Vanilla Ice Cream with a mismatched French Vanilla container lid and people who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to eggs may run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reactions if they consume the sweet treat.
There are nine major food allergens that the
FDA requires all companies to identify in their products, which include milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, and sesame.
AllRecipes.com notes that French Vanilla is different from traditional Vanilla ice cream because the base of French Vanilla may contain egg yolks, while plain vanilla ice cream typically does not contain egg.
The recall is applicable to half-gallon containers with a June 19, 2026, expiration date and lot code PLT 13-575 stamped on it.
The FDA designated the recall a Class 1 event, which is the federal government’s highest risk alert and is described on the FDA
website as having a reasonable probability that the use of or exposure to will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.
"Level 1 recalls are done out of an abundance of caution because the consumption of the product could cause serious health issues, or even death,” Mendocino Food Consulting founder Bryan Quoc Le told NTD.
A Class 2 event is described on the FDA
website as exposure to a product that may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences, while a Class 3 event involves products that violate regulations but are unlikely to cause health problems, such as minor labeling errors.
For example, on Nov. 6, the FDA assigned its second-highest risk alert to 979 cases of strawberry ice cream sold in 29 states.
Concerns about foreign objects led the Ice Cream Factory LLC of Lebanon, Missouri, to voluntarily recall its Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream with Graham Crackers Swirl, according to an FDA enforcement
report.
