Editor’s Note: The subheading of this story has been updated to correct a misidentification of which ice cream flavor was mislabeled.
The Babcock Dairy Store at the University of Wisconsin has voluntarily recalled approximately 41 half-gallon cases of ice cream, according to a statement released by the company. Mistakenly labeled as chocolate peanut butter, the cases actually contain orange custard chocolate chip ice cream.
Orange custard chocolate chip has eggs and yellow #5, a dye commonly used as food coloring. People with allergies to these ingredients could be at risk of suffering serious or life-threatening allergic reactions if they consume it, according to the statement.
UW Assistant Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs and Institutional Communications John Lucas spoke to the timeline of events and what specifically alerted Babcock Dairy to the issue.
“The ice cream was produced on September 17, 2024,” Lucas said. “The Babcock Dairy received notification of the labeling issue from a customer on the evening of November 4, 2024.”
UW immediately contacted the FDA, Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection and Dane County Public Health to initiate the recall process, Lucas said.
The incident occurred during the product labeling process in the Babcock Dairy facility where employees add dates to packaging prior to ice cream production, Lucas said.
All customers with products from the affected batch are encouraged to return the ice cream to their place of purchase for a full refund, although there have been no reports of illness or reactions associated with the mishap as of Thursday, Lucas said.
“Babcock is currently creating new processes for ice cream labeling to improve our food safety standards,” Lucas said. “Employees will be retrained on ice cream labeling as soon as possible. During labeling of product containers, verified checking will occur at several stages.”
Babcock Dairy also intends to increase organization of packaging in their facility to prevent future contamination, Lucas added.
For cautionary measures, Babcock Dairy staff retrieved all remaining mislabeled products from retail outlets within three hours of the issue’s discovery, according to the statement from Babcock Dairy.
The mislabeled products were sold at Babcock Dairy Store, Metcalfe’s Markets, Ken’s Meats & Deli and Capitol Centre Market, according to the statement.
There is a set protocol for Babcock recalls that has been followed, Lucas said.
In addition to removing the mislabeled product from shelves, Babcock Dairy has placed signs in stores carrying their products, shared social media posts and sent a news release to Dane County media in order to keep the public well informed, Lucas said.
“We take food safety extremely seriously at Babcock Dairy and this is an extremely rare circumstance,” Lucas said.
