A popular ice cream company that makes Hershey’s cakes has filed for bankruptcy months after being forced to recall contaminated products.
Totally Cool Incorporation, a Maryland-based frozen treat maker, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on August 23.
In addition to Hershey’s ice cream and cakes, the manufacturer also produces Friendly’s, Taharka Brothers, Dolcezza, Abilyn’s Frozen Bakery, Jeni’s and ChipWich products.
The announcement comes after tests revealed its products may have been contaminated with listeria in June.
Listeria monocytogenes can kill young children, the elderly or people with weakened immune systems who contract listeria, according to the FDA notice.
Totally Cool Incorporation, a Maryland-based frozen treat maker, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on August 23 after being forced to recall contaminated products.
After being forced to stop production, around 68 of its 71 employees were laid off from the company, according to The flag of Baltimore.
So far, Totally Cool has listed between $1 million and $10 million in liabilities and between $500,000 and $1 million in assets in its official filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland.
The company now plans to restructure to pay its creditors, which number between 50 and 99%.
The affected products had been shipped across the United States and were available in stores and for delivery directly to people’s homes prior to the recall.
The complete list of products can be found hereCustomers who have them should return them for a full refund or throw them away immediately.
As of June 24, no illnesses have been reported related to the recalled products.
However, consumers who have any of the listed products in their possession are urged to return them immediately.
Totally Cool makes products for brands and supermarkets, with long-term offers and short-term ones where it intervenes to help with peaks in demand.
For example, Taharka Brothers Ice Cream, one of the affected brands, asked Totally Cool to intervene in the production of two of its most popular flavors, Honey Graham and Key Lime.
“While no listeria has been detected in our ice cream or any ice cream produced at Totally Cool, the FDA is requiring a complete recall as a precautionary measure,” Taharka said. a statement posted on Facebook.
The company has restarted production of both flavors at its own factory.
Jenni products like this one are also part of the recall.
Otherwise healthy people who become infected with the bacteria may experience high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea.
Pregnant women are especially vulnerable to listeria because it can cause miscarriages and stillbirths.
Symptoms usually begin within 24 hours of consumption and may last for days or weeks, depending on the severity of the infection.
Listeria cases are extremely rare in the U.S., and previous outbreaks were typically linked to the distribution of unpasteurized milk and cheese, ice cream, raw vegetables and fruits, as well as undercooked meats, according to The FDA.
The CDC An estimated 1,600 people contract listeriosis each year and 260 of them die from the disease.
