Rerun: The Creamery (Blue Bell)

Hannah (0:01)

This episode of Swindled may contain graphic descriptions or audio recordings of disturbing events which may not be suitable for all audiences. Listener discretion is advised.

SPEAKER_2 (0:14)

We have some breaking news right now. We're learning about a Listeria outbreak that's mostly affecting people who either live here in Florida or have traveled to our state. The CDC says most of the sick people were in Florida about a month before they got sick.

SPEAKER_3 (0:28)

In May 2022, Kristen Hopkins, her husband Frank and Bruglia, and their two daughters traveled from Massachusetts to Florida for a wedding.

After a few fun filled days in the Sunshine State, the family returned home to share some exciting news. Kristen was 11 weeks pregnant with their third child, a baby boy. They couldn't wait for his arrival, but it would not be an easy pregnancy.

By the end of May, Kristen Hopkins said she developed quote, mild cramping coupled with persistent diarrhea. The pain never went away and only grew more severe as the weeks passed by.

By mid June, Kristen was also experiencing intense headaches. After waking up shivering and pale one morning, Frank drove Kristen to the hospital, where she was put into intensive care. The doctors informed Kristen that she had miscarried. Her blood tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes. For those of you new here, Listeria is a deadly bacteria that can be found almost everywhere and that has evolved so it thrives in cold moist areas like refrigerators. When ingested by humans, typically via contaminated food, a life-threatening infection can follow. Older adults, immunocompromised and pregnant women are the most affected. Symptoms, which include fever, vomiting and diarrhea, sometimes take up to two weeks to appear. It's an unpleasant way to go.

Historically, sources of Listeria outbreaks have been challenging to pinpoint, but now strains can be identified and traced through DNA sampling. Listeria has a genetic fingerprint. Epidemiologists can link multiple cases together if the samples are closely related. In this case, Kristen Hopkins' Listeria strain matched Mary Billmans, a 79-year-old woman in Illinois who died in January. There were also matches in New York, Colorado, Georgia, Kansas, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. When interviewed, all of those patients reported that they had recently spent time in Florida. Many of them claimed to have eaten ice cream.

SPEAKER_4 (2:39)

A Listeria outbreak is being linked to an ice cream company based in Sarasota. The CDC is advising customers to throw out products from Big Olaf Creamery.

SPEAKER_3 (2:48)

According to the company's website, Big Olaf Ice Cream is made at a local creamery near Sarasota's Amish village of Pinecraft. It's hand-mixed with the finest ingredients, and churned in batch freezers by local Amish craftsmen. The company was founded in 1982 Their ice cream is only sold in Florida. There are 15 retail locations throughout the state. Health authorities recommended that they all close immediately.

On Friday, July 1st, 2022, Big Olaf Creamery was informed of an outbreak investigation by the Florida Department of Health and Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that one person had died, and 22 others had been hospitalized. Big Olaf Creamery was the suspected culprit.

The statement continued, As a result of this investigation, Big Olaf Creamery in Sarasota, Florida, is voluntarily contacting retail locations to recommend against selling their ice cream products. Consumers who have Big Olaf Creamery brand ice cream at home should throw away any remaining product. While it is true that Big Olaf said they had stopped producing and distributing its ice cream on July 1st, 2022, the company did not issue a recall of existing product. As a result, restaurants, retail stores and other vendors continued to unknowingly sell the potentially tainted ice cream for at least another week. Big Olaf's owners were defiant.

A post on the company's Facebook page addressed the Listeria investigation, quote, For now, it is only speculation, as it is an ongoing investigation. Our brand has not been confirmed to be linked to these cases. I'm not sure why only Big Olaf is being mentioned and targeted. The original report we got from the Florida Department of Health on Friday, July 1st, was that there are 23 cases reported. The first one reported was January 2021 Six out of the 23 patients mentioned having consumed Big Olaf ice cream, but nothing has been proven. We have been cooperating with the Florida Department of Health, FDA CS, and the FDA as soon as we were informed about the situation. We have been transparent and have answered all their questions and provided them with all the information requested from us, as the health and well-being of the public is our first priority.

A Florida Department of Health spokesperson told the New York Post that Big Olaf's actions were surprising. Quote, we expected them to do so, but judging by what we've heard reported in the media and what the company has posted on its social media, it looks like they continue to ship and make the product.