Washington Health Officials: Listeria Found in Ice Cream Machines Linked to Three Deaths

Listeria detected in ice cream machines at a restaurant in Washington state has been linked to three deaths, health officials announced Friday.

The bacteria were found in “all milkshake flavors” at a Frugals eatery on Pacific Avenue in Tacoma, the Washington State Department of Health said in a press release.

The listeria bacteria were associated with an outbreak linked to six hospitalizations and three deaths.

“Investigators found Listeria in the ice cream machines, which were not cleaned correctly,” the department said, adding no other Frugals locations were thought to have had the same problem.

Restaurant workers shut down the machines on August 8. However, people apparently can become sick from the bacteria 70 days later.

The agency continued:

Most people who eat food contaminated with Listeria will not get seriously sick, but people who are pregnant, aged 65 or older, and those with weakened immune systems should call their health care provider if they ate a Frugals’ Tacoma milkshake between May 29 and Aug. 7, 2023 and have Listeria symptoms (listed below). Listeria can be treated with antibiotics.

The bacteria are able to live through refrigeration and freezing, the Mayo Clinic’s website reads, noting that symptoms of listeria infection include fever, chills, muscle aches, nausea, and diarrhea.

“Symptoms might begin a few days after you’ve eaten contaminated food, but it can take 30 days or more before the first signs and symptoms of infection begin,” the clinic’s website says.

Listeria is also able to grow while being refrigerated and be passed to  other foods, per WebMD:

The Mayo Clinic said ways to prevent a listeria infection include washing one’s hands thoroughly before and after touching food, scrubbing raw vegetables in running water, and making sure food is cooked thoroughly before eating.

According to Washington health officials:

Genetic fingerprinting of bacteria in the milkshakes shows it’s the same strain of Listeria that hospitalized six people between Feb. 27 and July 22 (five people in Pierce County and one person in Thurston County). All six people had conditions that made their immune systems less able to fight disease. Three of the six people hospitalized died. Two people who were hospitalized, but did not die, said they ate Frugals’ Tacoma milkshakes before getting sick.

An ice cream company in New York recently recalled some of its products due to potential listeria contamination, Breitbart News reported August 11.