The Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams chain, a cult favorite in the Midwest, said its “all-hands-on-deck Listeria eradication effort” has already cost the company $2.5 million and 15 semi-haulers of ice cream.
In a note posted on the company’s website, Jeni’s alerted customers that employees of the company’s scoop shops would be compensated 25 percent of their regular pay for the hours they missed because of the contamination.
It also assured the public that recalled ice cream would be converted into fertilizer or used to generate electricity rather than simply dumped.
The scoop-shop chain and retail supplier recalled every product it has made after a single container of ice cream was detected last week by the Nebraska Department of Health to contain traces of Listeria.
“We have decided to recall everything currently on retailer shelves, and we are closing our scoop shops until we are 100 percent confident every item we sell is safe,” CEO John Lowe explained at the time.
Jeni’s operates scoop shops in Ohio, Illinois, Georgia, Tennessee and California.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.