Ben And Jerry’s Warns Consumers To Check Their Ice Cream For Metal Shards


Ben and Jerry’s has warned its consumers to check their Cookie Dough ice cream tubs at home, fearing that some have been contaminated with metal shards. On Friday morning, the ice cream manufacturer released an urgent safety notice in several newspapers in the U.K.

“The company has identified a specific production period during which [the ice cream] may have been affected and, as safety remains a top priority, Ben & Jerry’s is voluntarily recalling four batch codes of Cookie Dough 500ml.”

The batch codes possibly affected are L6210L011, L6211L011, L62112L011, and L62113L011. It is believed that the metal filings ended up in several tubs during production at the factory.

“As a precaution, everyone with a 500ml tub of Ben & Jerry’s Cookie Dough in their freezers should check the batch number of the bottom of their tub to make sure it’s not affected and, if it matches the batch numbers [affected], they should not eat the product and, instead, we ask them to discard the product in the usual household bin.”

Consumers with contaminated Ben and Jerry’s ice cream tubs are advised to call the firm’s hotline for replacement.

Ice cream manufacturers doing voluntary recalls of their products are not uncommon. Last July, a batch of the well-loved Ben and Jerry’s Strawberry Cheesecake ice cream was likewise recalled in Singapore. According to the Straits Times, the country’s Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) received feedback that a plastic film was found in the ice cream tub.

Nonetheless, in June last year, Ben and Jerry’s was lauded for its decision to release vegan, dairy-free ice cream. The newest flavors, Chunky Monday, Chocolate Fudge Brownie, PB and Cookies, and Coffee Caramel Fudge, are all made with certified vegan ingredients including almond milk.

The company collaborated with Vegan Action to ensure that the new ice cream flavors were devoid of animal products. On its website, Ben and Jerry’s explained that the company wanted everyone to enjoy the well-loved ice cream flavors.

“We asked you. Lots of you. Some of you are committed to a vegan lifestyle, while others can’t or would rather not eat dairy. And all of you are missing the indulgent frozen delights you once enjoyed. We knew that with some hard work and experimentation we could deliver the taste and creamy texture you’ve been craving. So we did.”

However, one ice cream flavor might not make it to the company’s famous pint – grapes. Several stories have emerged as to why companies do not make grapes ice cream. One even involves the tale of how Ben and Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen accidentally created dog poison.

Ben and Jerry's owners
[Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images]

Cohen reportedly confessed that he tried to get the attention of Jerry Greenfield’s sister, Becky, by creating grape ice cream. Becky’s dog licked the ice cream and dropped dead because anthocyanin is poisonous to dogs.

Ben and Jerry’s PR lead Sean Greenwood shunned the theories and addressed the glaring absence of the purple fruit in the company’s roster.

He told Thrillist that the high water content of grapes does not make it a great candidate for ice cream because watery bases equate to an inconsistent outcome. Another reason is that consumers reportedly do not desire a grape-flavored ice cream.

“Grapes are a difficult fruit, because of the water content — but it’s also not a very mainstream flavor for ice cream. Most people don’t even associate grape with ice cream. People grew up on cherry and vanilla — so now, they love cherry-based ice cream. Grape has not broken through the creme-de-glace ceiling, if you will.”

Greenwood said that they once considered using grapes when they came up with the Sugar Plum flavor. Sugar Plum apparently did not spark the interest of consumers, which further prompted Ben and Jerry’s to forget about the purple-fruit category.

[Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images]

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