Ice Cream Recall Map Shows 25 States Impacted by Health Warning

A line of ice cream cakes has been recalled amid fears that the desserts could be contaminated with the potentially deadly food poisoning bug listeria.

Four flavors of Abilyn’s Frozen Bakery Ice Cream Cakes were removed from shelves last week, with consumers across 25 states told to discard the products or return them to the store for a refund.

Supermarket chain Wegmans, which has 110 locations across eight states, issued its own warning about the recall but the brand is also sold in other stores across the country, including Whole Foods, Market Basket, Hannaford, Weis, Roche Bros., Big Y, Dave’s, Giant, and Safeway. Newsweek has now created a map showing the affected areas.

Listeria is the third leading cause of death from foodborne illness in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Listeria organisms are bacteria that can contaminate food, sparking an infection called listeriosis in consumers. Symptoms include stomach upsets, diarrhea, fatigue, fever, and muscle aches. The infection often becomes invasive meaning the bacteria spread from the patient’s intestines into their bloodstream. Vulnerable patients, such as pregnant women and their unborn babies, the elderly, and those with weakened immune systems are particularly at risk. Most infections are treated with antibiotics.

There have been no reports of any illnesses relating to Abilyn’s recall.

The affected products, which were marked with a best by date between April 20, 2024, to April 20, 2025, are:

• Abilyn’s Ice Cream Cake, Vanilla & Chocolate. UPC Code 8-51545-00800-2.
• Abilyn’s Ice Cream Cake, For the Love of Chocolate. UPC Code 8-51545-00805-7.
• Abilyn’s Ice Cream Cake, Cookies ‘n Cream. UPC Code 8-51545-00804-0.
• Abilyn’s Ice Cream Cake, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. UPC Code 8-51545-00807-1.

According to Abilyn’s website, the products are sold in a variety of stores across the U.S.

States where the affected ice cream cakes are sold include California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin.

A statement released by Abilyn’s Frozen Bakery said the company was “heartbroken” and “devastated” by the recall. “We are so sorry to cause any alarm or concern to you, our loyal customers,” the firm said in a message posted to its website. “Please know that none of our product, that we know of, has ever tested positive for any contaminants. We are devastated that this has happened. We are praying that our small family business will be able to weather this storm and thank you all for your continued support.”

Explaining how the possible contamination was discovered, the company said: “We are heartbroken to have to write this notification […] We were informed on the evening of 6/21/24, by our production partner, that recent testing by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has detected the presence of possible contamination on the production line that has been used to produce our Abilyn’s Frozen Bakery ice cream cakes.

“There currently is no indication that our ice cream cakes have been contaminated, but out of an abundance of caution, we have recalled all flavors of ice cream cake with a Best By date between 4/20/24 and 4/20/25.”

Newsweek has reached out by email to Abilyn’s by email seeking further information and comment.

Recalls are issued when there are concerns that a food product may be harmful in some way, such as when testing reveals that products are infected with potentially deadly bacteria, or when there are fears that foods could be contaminated with a foreign object from the manufacturing process.

Consumers have various rights when an item they’ve purchased is hit by a recall, and food manufacturers typically offer full refunds.