Penn State's Latest Woes: There's Something In The Ice Cream

As if Penn State didn't have enough problems these days, it looks like someone may be spiking its famous ice cream.

The historic Berkey Creamery is recalling all ice cream and frozen yogurt made between May 16 and Aug. 11 after three people reported finding "small plastic foreign objects" in their favorite half-gallons. One person even reported finding a penny, according to the Centre Daily Times.

The creamery is erring on the side of caution, it says, by conducting a broad recall that stretches from the State College campus to Internet sales. "Although by all accounts these appear to be isolated incidents, they are troubling to say the least," says Tom Palchak, creamery manager, in a press release distributed by the Food and Drug Administration.

No injuries or illnesses have been reported.

The incident came to light after campus police began a criminal investigation when plastic bits less than one-inch long began appearing in some customers' ice cream last month.

The creamery doesn't think the foreign objects got there while the ice cream was made. "An independent investigation of the reports of foreign objects conducted for the Creamery, while not conclusive, suggests that the objects did not enter the ice cream during the manufacturing process," the press release says.

Still, it's stepping up surveillance, alerting suppliers, and using an X-ray device and metal detectors — just like lots of other manufacturers — in the hopes of keeping the ice cream adulterers from sabotaging more sundaes.

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