Lidl US pulled one lot of Gelatelli Coffee & Vanilla Gelato with Coffee Sauce & Cookie Pieces from stores in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast after company testing found Listeria monocytogenes in a sample, the Food and Drug Administration posted on Oct. 17.
Which cartons are affected
The recall covers 16-fluid-ounce pints with UPC 4 0564897 22458, lot 085261, and best-by date March 26, 2028. The clear tub with a brown lid was distributed between July 19 and Oct. 15 to Lidl stores in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia. Identifying numbers are on the bottom of the container.
No illnesses had been reported as of the company’s Oct. 16 announcement. Lidl said the trigger was routine quality testing, not a consumer complaint.
Health stakes
Listeria can cause severe illness in young children, older adults, pregnant people, and anyone with a weakened immune system. Healthy adults may experience fever, headache, stiffness, nausea, or diarrhea, but infections during pregnancy can lead to miscarriage or stillbirth even when the parent feels mild symptoms. Because Listeria can survive freezing, discarding or returning the product is safer than trying to scoop around contaminated layers.
What to do with a pint at home
Do not eat the gelato. Throw it away or return it to any Lidl store for a refund without a receipt. Questions go to Lidl’s customer care line at 844-747-5435, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Monday through Saturday. If you already ate from a recalled tub and develop fever or gastrointestinal symptoms, contact a clinician and mention the exposure. The FDA keeps an updated list of retail recalls on its safety alerts page for shoppers who want to verify future additions.
Where the product landed in stores
Lidl operates discount groceries along the East Coast and in the Southeast, meaning the recall spans dense suburban markets from New Jersey to Georgia. The company sold the gelato nationwide within its footprint rather than through third-party e-commerce, so inspectors focus on in-store freezers rather than warehouse clubs. Shoppers who bought multipacks should check each pint because the recall is lot-specific, not brand-wide.
Listeria outbreaks in frozen desserts often trace to production equipment or ingredient suppliers. Lidl’s announcement does not name a facility, but the FDA entry lists the hazard as environmental contamination found through routine testing. That pattern sometimes precedes broader supplier audits if additional lots test positive.
Cleaning and cross-contamination at home
Anyone who stored the pint in a home freezer should wipe down shelves with hot soapy water if drips leaked, though the bacteria do not aerosolize like norovirus. Utensils that touched the product should be run through a dishwasher on a sanitizing cycle. Household members who are pregnant or immunocompromised should avoid tasting other open containers from the same shopping trip until they confirm lot numbers.
State health departments may post localized alerts even when no illnesses occur, because listeriosis reporting is mandatory for hospitals. Keeping the UPC and lot code handy speeds intake if symptoms develop two weeks after exposure—the incubation window can stretch that long.