Full Tilt Ice Cream temporarily closing shops, pulling its dairy-based products, as side effect of Snoqualmie Ice Cream recall

You might have heard about a voluntary recall of Snoqualmie Ice Cream products because of listeria concerns. No illnesses have been reported, but other businesses that use Snoqualmie products are affected – including Full Tilt Ice Cream, which is pulling its dairy-based ice cream and closing its shops for a few days. Here’s the explanation from FT’s Facebook page:

Unfortunately our stores are going to be closed until December 26th. Our dairy supplier, Snoqualmie Gourmet, has issued a recall on our pasteurized milk products. This does not affect our non-dairy and vegan flavors.

None of our ice cream has been contaminated, but to err on the side of caution, we have decided to pull all of our dairy-based ice cream.

If you have a pint at home that you bought at one of our scoop shops, feel free to bring it in for a refund or replacement. If you recently bought a pint from another retail outlet, you can return it to the store that you bought it from for a full refund. We are currently working as hard as we can to make ice cream and get open as soon as possible.

Again, that’s the message from Full Tilt. It is not the only business affected by the Snoqualmie situation – another popular local ice-cream mini-chain, Molly Moon, has temporarily closed its shops too. (Thanks to Chas and Amy for the tips on this.)

ADDED 12/25: Please see the comments for additional info, pending our next update on this.

ML December 23, 2014 (6:15 pm)

Any word on Husky’s Deli? They use Snoqualmie base for their ice creams.

WSB December 23, 2014 (6:42 pm)

According to the Times story on all this, they are making ice cream using somebody else’s base.

Diane December 23, 2014 (7:14 pm)

I forgot that PSBJ sent out breaking news about this just after noon today; the headline was about Molly Moon, so hadn’t read the details yet; seems to be impacting many local businesses/restaurants; this story didn’t even mention Full Tilt; bummer
~
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/blog/2014/12/snoqualmie-ice-cream-issues-recall-forces-molly.html

Diane December 23, 2014 (7:27 pm)

had no idea Bartell Drugs has a private-label ice cream “Emerald & Spruce”, “which is made by Snoqualmie” per the Seattle Times story posted above by TR

Sue December 23, 2014 (7:49 pm)

I’m glad for this extra info. The first recall I saw was an email from PCC, and it said Snoqualmie was being recalled but that in an abundance of caution, they were recalling Full Tilt too, but it didn’t say what on earth the connection was between the two of them. Now it makes sense.

Burst my Bubble December 24, 2014 (8:41 am)

Hopefully this all gets sorted out soon. It is unclear by reading the ST article as to whether Husky Deli ice cream that was on the shelf would have been sourced from “Snoqualmie” or not. It indicates that they now have a new source, but not whether product on their shelf currently is from that source. I just bought a gallon two days ago for Christmas and don’t know what to do.

I had no idea that “Snoqualmie” makes Husky, Molly Moon, and Full Tilt. I feel like I have been kind of duped all these years into thinking that these were actually different products. Bummer.

It’s kind of like finding out on Christmas Eve that Santa isn’t real.

WSB December 24, 2014 (8:50 am)

Burst – to be clear, Snoqualmie makes the *base* – the companies in question then add their own flavors, have their own freezing/mixing process, etc. It’s not a case of “we just put our labels on it.” Full Tilt definitely engages in ice-cream-making, to the point where they had to get a separate production facility – grew too big for them to keep making it in the back of the White Center shop any more.

Paul December 24, 2014 (8:52 am)

Burst my Bubble, I’ll be happy to eat your share of ice cream from Husky Deli and Full Tilt!

Burst my Bubble December 24, 2014 (9:56 am)

From the Seattle Times:

“West Seattle’s Husky Deli, which also usually uses Snoqualmie base, has already found another source and is currently scooping.”

Is current Husky Deli stock affected? When did Husky Deli find different stock? Many people have their ice cream at home in the fridge. This makes it sound as though they just identified alternate stock recently. How many months back would this affect? This is an important distinction.

Full TIlt Ice Cream December 24, 2014 (10:23 am)

Burst my Bubble. Snoqualmie Gourmet pasteurizes our recipe of sugars, milk and creams, and then brings it back to us. They don’t make our ice cream. They don’t make Molly Moon’s or Husky’s. We do this because the FDA requires that ice cream be pasteurized once it is all mixed together. There are a few shops in town that make their base with out pasteurizing. They can get away with it because they are small shops and not under the control of the FDA.
The reason we do not pasteurize on our own is cost. It would be an additional $200K just for the equipment, not to mention training, space for that equipment, and the man hours to run it. Eventually it would pay off, but why reinvent the wheel when we have an amazing dairy locally that can do it for us.

miws December 24, 2014 (11:18 am)

Burst my Bubble:

http://www.huskydeli.com/contact.html

Mike

Doug V December 24, 2014 (2:22 pm)

looks like Pinks Ice Cream is also on a recall.

https://www.facebook.com/PinksIceCream/timeline

jack miller December 24, 2014 (2:30 pm)

Husky deli had returned all ice cream produced after dec 9th. But has stopped all its ice cream sales as we are now aware of a total precautionary recall of all of the ice cream produced with Snoqualmie mix. After talking with King County Health they are not aware of any illness due to this, but are not taking chances. If you wish to return ice cream you will recieve credit.

West Seattle Steve December 24, 2014 (3:48 pm)

Thanks for the explanation Justin.

I was wondering why so many shops were using the Snoqualmie Base instead of making their own. It sounds like they were making base for many shops each with their own recipe.

juli December 24, 2014 (6:23 pm)

Vegan ice cream rocks!

sb2780 December 24, 2014 (11:17 pm)

I had some Molly Moon’s ice cream on Friday night at the Capital Hill shop, and threw up Saturday evening, which is totally not like me, and I never get sick. Thought it was the strangest thing, and had not otherwise eaten anything out of the ordinary, but now I’m wondering if it may have been food poisoning from Molly Moon’s?

GoodreCall December 25, 2014 (2:29 am)

Two cases of listeria reported – in So. King County end of Nov./early Dec. From the Snoqualmie base???

That can make a person very sick.

evergreen December 25, 2014 (2:45 am)

I love Full Tilt. It’s a conscientious business and community staple!

WSB December 25, 2014 (6:07 am)

The two cases were made public on Wednesday, long after we published this story. The state’s info is on this page: http://www.doh.wa.gov/Newsroom

Former Westie December 25, 2014 (6:44 am)

Justin, that makes sense. Thanks for the transparency. Brought 10 pints of Full Tilt to family BBQ this summer and it was a huge hit. Love you guys!

incubation period December 25, 2014 (12:20 pm)

the incubation period, on that DOH site, says listeria’s incubation period is from 3 – 70 days. Holy moly. That’s two months!!

No wonder Snoqualmie recalled their base product for the ENTIRE YEAR of 2014. They lost quality control if they can’t narrow down a timeframe shorter than that. Geesh, the burden of lack of control is really on the local retailer’s customers to sort it out. Hope DOH track’s it all down soon so everybody can purge their freezers of these products and start over. I’m not a medical person or an ice cream person any longer, but an incubation period of TWO months seems like a long long time. WOw.

Be well ice cream lovers!

Ann December 25, 2014 (2:14 pm)

Incubation- Snoqualmie tests regularly and keeps samples of the base mix they sell to other companies for testing in case something like this happens. They have tested the samples and have not found listeria in anything sold to Full Tilt (or anyone else that I’ve heard.) The extended recall is just to be very, very cautious. I’d be shocked if anyone has ice cream from even 6 months ago sitting on their shelf.

Mike December 25, 2014 (3:02 pm)

The good thing is we have reputable companies around here taking extra precautions to keep us safe from foodborne illnesses. Sucks that they’ll all be losing money, but at the same time it shows they are top notch companies, Snoqualmie included. I’ll continue to support them all. I LOVE Pinks coconut ice cream and Full-Tilt’s vegan ice creams (I can’t have dairy ice cream). I hear they all make fantastic dairy ice cream too. Best thing we can do is continue to support all these companies and keep them going.

incubation period December 25, 2014 (5:57 pm)

Ann –

Read: http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2025309066_snoqualmiesickens2xml.html

These men had compromised health and were more vulnerable. So are young kids. People need to return the products and meanwhile all the retailers will cross their fingers and pray, if so inclined, nobody else gets sick. Stuff happens, unfortunately. Risk of business and of life.

Ann December 25, 2014 (7:15 pm)

The illnesses came from Snoqualmie’s ice cream. What I’m saying is they have a better idea of what is or isn’t contaminated then your claim of an all out lack of quality control.

raisinghand December 25, 2014 (9:51 pm)

i don’t get what this means” “No illnesses have been recalled,”

WSB December 25, 2014 (9:54 pm)

Sorry, error, thank you for catching. I meant “reported”; fixed now. However, as noted earlier in the comments, that has since changed.

Doug V December 26, 2014 (8:19 am)

This has to be the most poorly communicated recall I have ever heard. Lot’s of waffling around between our ice cream is affected, and then isn’t affected, to it isn’t affected but maybe you should bring it back anyway.

With people actually getting sick, you would think it would be a priority to get this straight.

Derek December 27, 2014 (12:42 pm)

Full Tilt, please let’s call a spade a spade. Snoqualmie isn’t a dairy, it’s an ice cream factory. They don’t simply “pasteurize your milk and sugar and creams” they supply you an commercial ice cream base which is the very foundation of your products. Otherwise, who adds in those industrial stabilizers that show up on your ingredients list? Right now, consumers just want to be sure they aren’t going to be exposed to listeria. We deserve some honest answers… from where are you getting your ice cream base while Snoqualmie is closed? From where does that manufacturer source its dairy? Is it the same dairy source(s) that Snoqualmie uses? How can you assure us that your ice cream is safe?

Burst my Bubble December 27, 2014 (6:17 pm)

Why has Husky Deli not appeared on the recall list in this article, or the Seattle Times article? Why is there no information on their website?

miws December 28, 2014 (10:20 am)

Burst my Bubble, did you click on the link I provided above, and contact Husky Deli to ask them?

Mike

Real Answers Never to Be Seen December 29, 2014 (11:15 pm)

The Seattle Times reported toight (Dec. 29 at 10:30 PM) that ‘critical” violations were found on Oct. 15 at Snoqualmie. Somebody got sick in November/early December. Fast forward over a MONTH. THEN a “voluntary recall” was issued. That’s legalese for “get your butts in gear and tear down this facility to disinfect it or else”. But why the delay of over a MONTH by the inspectors and SNoqualmie? What kind of disregard is this we are seeing for public health?

Read the Times article and the descriptions of violations by the investigator. They waited till somebody actually got sick to close and clean up? Shaking my head.

WSB December 30, 2014 (12:24 am)

No, the Times did NOT report “critical” violations were found. I just looked up the story. Note the word “weren’t” in the paragraph in question:
.

“The problems detected during the Oct. 15 inspection weren’t deemed “critical,” so the firm continued operations, said Kirk Robinson, assistant director for food safety and consumer services with the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA).

“When we do an inspection, 90 or above would be a passing inspection,” Robinson said, noting that Snoqualmie scored 87 in October.

.
Yup, the stuff they cite sounds pretty gross.

Derek December 30, 2014 (10:10 am)

Seriously, people, throw away any Snoqualmie ice cream, or any ice cream from a shop that uses their base. They failed a health inspection two months before people got sick from listeria.
http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2025342159_snoqualmielisteriaxml.html

Wendy December 31, 2014 (3:02 am)

Wonderful! Pregnant lady here who just finished a half pint of full tilt ice cream tonight. Purchased it in early December. Not sure why this was not more publicized.

WSB December 31, 2014 (7:35 am)

Wendy – It *was* reported by every regional/local news source of note (TV and print as well as online), and got a lot more attention than it might have received otherwise, since it broke just before Christmas, when serious news stories tend to be few and far between. The “voluntary recall” involved only Snoqualmie and the brands it manufactures – see the list in their news release:
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http://www.snoqualmieicecream.com/blog/the-scoop/post/snoqualmie-ice-cream-voluntary-recall-press-release-update-1226
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They did not recall the “mix” they sell to a variety of ice-cream makers, but a few, most notably Full Tilt and Molly Moon, announced they were pulling theirs anyway, and that was the headline for many of the area reports before Christmas, as those are more-recognizable brands because they have their own shops. We don’t usually report recalls but since Full Tilt is local, with its WC store, and selling pints through local grocery stores, we reported this one. At least one grocery chain (PCC) sent news about it to its customers – that was the first word we got. Meantime, Snoqualmie’s website features more of the local companies that get “mix” from them.
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http://www.snoqualmieicecream.com/mix
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This is already way down the list of recalls the state Department of Health is tracking – http://www.doh.wa.gov/YouandYourFamily/FoodSafety/Recalls
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So far, no other illnesses have been reported in the week-plus since this was made public. Hope it stays that way!

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