The store front of Jeni’s in the Decatur Square. Photo by Dan Whisenhunt

Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams is closing all scoop shops and recalling most of its products over concerns about Listeria contamination.

That affects all Atlanta locations, including the recently-opened store in Decatur.

“Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams has initiated a voluntary recall of all ice creams, frozen yogurts, sorbets, and ice cream sandwiches for all flavors and containers because of the possible presence of Listeria monocytogenes,” the press release announcing the recall says. “The company is ceasing all sales and closing all scoop shops until all products are ensured to be 100 percent safe.”

The recall follows a similar recall by Blue Bell Ice cream.

An employee at the Decatur store told Decaturish there’s no word on when the store may reopen.

“Listeria monocytogenes is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people and others with weakened immune systems,” the press release says. “Although healthy individuals infected by Listeria may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea, infected pregnant women can suffer miscarriages or stillbirths.”

The company has not received any reports of illnesses related to its products. The press release said the Nebraska Department of Agriculture discovered the contamination in a randomly-collected sample.

Here is the full press release from Jeni’s …

JENI’S SPLENDID ICE CREAMS RECALLS ALL PRODUCTS BECAUSE OF POSSIBLE HEALTH RISKS
April 23, 2015 – Columbus, Ohio – Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams has initiated a voluntary recall of all ice creams, frozen yogurts, sorbets, and ice cream sandwiches for all flavors and containers because of the possible presence of Listeria monocytogenes. The company is ceasing all sales and closing all scoop shops until all products are ensured to be 100% safe.

Listeria monocytogenes is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people and others with weakened immune systems. Although healthy individuals infected by Listeria may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea, infected pregnant women can suffer miscarriages or stillbirths.

The ice creams, frozen yogurts, sorbets, and ice cream sandwiches being recalled were distributed in the United States to retail outlets, including food service accounts and grocery markets, as well as online at jenis.com. This recall includes all products bearing the “Jeni’s” brand name.

The contamination was discovered in a sample randomly collected by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture.

Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams is not aware of any illness reports to date related to the recalled products. However, out of an abundance of caution, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams is taking this voluntary precautionary measure in order to ensure complete consumer safety. “Our top priority is guaranteeing the safety of all consumers by taking every possible precaution,” says John Lowe, CEO of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams.

“We have decided to recall everything currently on retailer shelves, and we are closing our scoop shops until we are 100% confident every item we sell is safe. We have called in experts to help us find the root cause. We will be working with our suppliers to determine if the bacteria was introduced by one of the ingredients we use. We will not reopen the kitchen until we can ensure the safety of our customers.”

Customers who have purchased any of the products are urged to dispose of them or return them to the store where they were purchased for an exchange or full refund, and consult with their physician regarding any medical questions. Customers may also contact Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at 614-360-3905 between the hours of 9 am and 10 pm (E.D.T.) on April 23 and 24, from 9 am to 5 pm (E.D.T.) on April 25 and 26, and from 9 am to 5 pm (E.D.T.) on Mondays through Fridays thereafter. Jeni’s can also be contacted by email at [email protected], and at jenis.com/recall.

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About Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams

Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams is a Certified B Corporation. Founded by Jeni Britton Bauer in 2002 in Columbus, Ohio, Jeni’s buys Direct Trade and Fair Trade ingredients and pays all employees above a living wage. Jeni Britton Bauer has honed her ice cream-making skills for nearly two decades and is the author of the New York Times bestseller Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home. With more than 100,000 copies in print, the cookbook dubbed the “homemade-ice cream-making Bible” by The Wall Street Journal earned Jeni a 2012 James Beard Award, America’s most coveted honor for those writing about food and the culinary arts. Jeni’s followup, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream Desserts, was published in May, 2014.