SARASOTA, Fla. — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning people about a Listeria outbreak in Florida as health officials advise anyone who has ice cream from Big Olaf Creamery, an ice cream brand based in Sarasota, to throw away its products.
So far, 22 people have reportedly been hospitalized and one person has died from the illness.
A top food safety attorney, Bill Marler, is representing the family of the woman who died from Listeria.
Marler said the woman used to live in Sarasota and was visiting family when she ate Big Olaf Creamery ice cream. She died shortly after.
The CDC said most of the people who are sick have reported eating Big Olaf ice cream prior to contracting Listeria.
The Sarasota-based company is still serving ice cream and called the relating Listeria cases a "speculation" on their social media.
In a statement on Facebook, the ice cream brand said "for now it is only speculation as it is an ongoing investigation, our brand has not been confirmed to be linked to these cases."
The CDC's website states businesses should not serve or sell any ice cream products from Big Olaf Creamery.
"If you haven’t identified where that bug came from, but you know it came from your product, I think continuing to see that product is a dice roll that I don’t think the company should be making," Marler said.
Marler also said he's surprised the company is still serving ice cream.
"Given my 30 years of experience, I am actually shocked they are not shut down for thorough cleaning," he said.
Marler claimed Listeria outbreaks happen when equipment isn’t clean. A person may not get sick right away, but it could take 60 days to feel symptoms, which include vomiting, headaches, diarrhea and fever.
10 Tampa Bay reached out to the CDC and Big Olaf Creamery for statements regarding the linked Listeria outbreaks. Neither has responded back yet.