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Nestle Drumsticks Recalled Amid Listeria Fears

By Christopher Coble, Esq. on October 11, 2016 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

The Drumstick -- second only to the Choco Taco in terms of ice cream bin impulse buys -- is in trouble. Drumstick maker Nestle announced a nationwide recall of the treat after equipment at a California factory tested positive for Listeria.

While the company asserts that no illnesses have been reported yet, some of the products were headed to convenience stores like 7-11. Here's what you need to know.

Recall Blues

According to Nestlé's press release, the company initiated the recall after it "received positive test results for Listeria monocytogenes (LM) from equipment contact surfaces from a location on the production line where these products are made." Nestle maintains that none of the actual product was contaminated, and the recall is merely precautionary. The recall involves the Drumstick Club 16 Count Variety Pack and 24 count Vanilla Pack, produced at the company's Bakersfield facility bearing "Best Before" dates between June 2 and June 15, 2017.

If this all sounds familiar, Nestlé urges that it is not. In trying to distance itself from recent Blue Bell ice cream recalls regarding Listeria, the company states:

(1) we have received no reports of human illnesses; (2) we have no listeria findings in the ice cream itself (just the equipment); (3) we have only one product line affected; (4) we have only one facility affected; and (5) we self-identified this event and took precautionary steps to recall product.

Listeria Liability

Listeria is a sneaky bacterium that can continue growing even in refrigerated foods, and remain in food products for over two months. Most consumers who come in contact with listeria may only suffer short-term symptoms such as a fever, headache, nausea, abdominal pain and possibly diarrhea. However, listeria can also cause miscarriages and stillbirths, and death in extreme cases. Of the 1,600 cases of serious illness resulting from Listeria every year, 16 percent turn out to be fatal.

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