Ice Cream Recall Expands; More Glass Findings Told

Continuing reports of fragments of glass being found in Lady Lee brand ice cream cartons have prompted Lucky supermarket officials to expand the recall of Lady Lee products to include all the brand’s ice cream, ice milk and sherbet sold at Lucky stores in California, Nevada and Arizona, the grocery chain announced Saturday.

The Lady Lee brand frozen goods all are manufactured at Lucky’s plant in Buena Park, and police there said they are investigating the plant manager’s suspicion that the ice cream was deliberately tampered with at the plant.

According to the state Department of Health Services in Sacramento, no one has been seriously injured by the glass fragments.

Three flavors of the ice cream were ordered withdrawn Friday, after initial reports of glass fragments were made in three California cities.

A decision to expand the recall was made Saturday after reports of glass in Lady Lee ice cream came from consumers in five cities in Arizona and California--Oakland, Sacramento, Bakersfield, Modesto and Phoenix, said Judy Decker, communications coordinator for Lucky Stores.

The products are also being withdrawn from sale at Gemco discount stores in the three states.

Decker said consumers should return Lady Lee products to Lucky stores for full refunds.

Bill Ihle, spokesman for the Health Services Department, said that the glass recovered from the five packages amounted to about four grams--slightly less than a teaspoonful. The largest piece was reportedly about one-eighth inch long.

The ice cream tampering allegations come after a spreading national concern about sabotage of commercial products. Earlier this year, Tylenol capsules were removed from stores nationwide after the death of a New York woman whose capsules had been poisoned.

On Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said that rat poison had been found in three capsule medications in Texas and Florida, causing them to be withdrawn from the market.

A furor also arose earlier this year because of allegations that bits of glass were found in some jars of commercial baby food.