Straus Family Creamery, the Northern California organic dairy producer, voluntarily recalled select flavors of its Organic Super Premium Ice Cream on Wednesday May 14, 2026 after discovering the potential presence of metal foreign material in a limited number of production runs.
The FDA published the notice Friday. No injuries have been reported. If you have any of the affected products in your freezer right now, you need to stop eating it immediately.
The recall is narrow and specific, not all Straus ice cream is affected, only particular flavors with particular best by dates that were placed on store shelves beginning May 4.
The best by date is the key identifier and it is printed in black on the outside bottom of every container.
The five affected flavors are vanilla bean, strawberry, cookie dough, Dutch chocolate and mint chip, sold in both pint and quart sizes.
The products were distributed to retailers in 17 states, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.
Here is every affected product, what to do with it and how to get your replacement.
The Full List Of Recalled Products
The recalled products are identified exclusively by their best by date, the date printed in black on the outside bottom of the container. Only the specific dates listed below are included in the recall.
All other Straus ice cream with different best by dates is not part of this action.
Vanilla Bean in the pint size is recalled with best by dates of December 23, 2026 and December 28, 2026. The UPC for the vanilla bean pint is 7-84830-10030-6.
Strawberry in the quart size is recalled with a best by date of December 24, 2026. The UPC is 7-84830-10097-9.
Strawberry in the pint size is recalled with a best by date of December 25, 2026. The UPC for the strawberry pint is 7-84830-10095-5.
Cookie dough, Dutch chocolate and mint chip in their specific affected sizes and best by dates are also included in the recall. The complete and authoritative list of every affected product with every UPC and every best by date is available directly from Straus at strausfamilycreamery.com/recall and from the FDA’s official recall page.
If you are uncertain whether your specific container is included, that page is the definitive source, check it before eating any Straus ice cream with a December 2026 best by date purchased in May.
The containers are paper cups with a seal and lid, the format Straus uses across its ice cream line. All of them came in through retail channels in the 17 affected states beginning May 4.
Why Metal Contamination Is A Serious Recall
The potential presence of metal foreign material in food, metal fragments of any size, is classified by the FDA as a physical hazard. The specific risk is direct physical injury if metal is ingested.
Metal in food can cause laceration of the mouth, throat or gastrointestinal tract. Depending on the size and shape of the fragment and where it travels in the digestive system, the injury can range from minor to serious.
The FDA does not set a minimum size threshold below which metal in food is considered safe, any confirmed or suspected metal contamination triggers the recall protocol regardless of whether injuries have occurred.
No consumer injuries have been reported in connection with this recall as of Friday’s announcement.
The recall is precautionary and voluntary, Straus identified the issue through its internal quality control processes and initiated the recall without waiting for a consumer injury report or a mandatory FDA order.
That is the correct approach and one the FDA actively encourages. Straus has also implemented corrective actions to prevent the contamination from recurring in future production runs.
The specific source of the metal contamination has not been publicly identified in the recall notice, Straus has not disclosed which piece of production equipment was involved or at what stage of the production process the contamination was identified.
That information is typically part of the internal investigation and corrective action rather than the public recall notice.
What To Do Right Now
The guidance from Straus and the FDA is specific and consistent. Do not eat the recalled product. Do not return it to the store.
Throw it away, in a way that prevents other people or animals from accessing it.
The instruction not to return it to the store reflects both a practical concern about keeping contaminated product out of retail environments and the recognition that Straus is providing a replacement voucher rather than a cash refund for returned product.
To receive a voucher for a free replacement product at your local retailer, visit strausfamilycreamery.com/recall.
The process requires you to submit information about the product you purchased and the retailer where you bought it.
Straus is not issuing cash refunds, the remedy is a replacement voucher that covers the cost of another Straus product at the same retailer.
If you have questions about the recall, the specific products affected or the voucher process, you can reach Straus Family Creamery directly at support@strausmilk.com or by calling 1-707-776-2887. Customer support is available Monday through Friday from 9:30 AM to 5 PM Pacific time.
What Is Straus Family Creamery?
The recall affects one of the most respected organic dairy brands in the western United States.
Straus Family Creamery was founded in 1994 in Petaluma, California, in Marin County, just north of San Francisco, and was among the first certified organic dairies west of the Mississippi River.
The company sources its milk from its own Marin County farm and from a network of regional partner farms committed to organic farming practices.
Straus built its reputation on products that carry the specific quality marks of small-scale organic production, glass bottle milk, certified organic cream, butter, yogurt and the ice cream line now under recall.
The ice cream is marketed as Organic Super Premium, a category designation that reflects both the organic sourcing of the ingredients and the higher butterfat content that separates premium ice cream from standard commercial products.
It is sold at natural food retailers, co-ops and organic grocery stores across the 17 states in the recall distribution area, as well as through some conventional grocery chains in California.
The company’s transparency in initiating a voluntary recall immediately upon identifying a potential contamination issue, and in working with retailers to remove affected product from shelves while the FDA publishes the notice, is consistent with how food safety professionals describe best-practice recall management.
The 30-year track record of the Marin County company makes this recall notable precisely because it is unusual for a brand that has operated at this standard for three decades.
Where To Check
The distribution area covers both western and eastern markets, reflecting Straus’s expanded retail footprint from its California base.
Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon and Washington represent the company’s natural western market. Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin represent the national distribution network through which Straus has expanded access to its organic products over the past decade.
If you purchased Straus ice cream at any retail location in those 17 states between May 4 and the present, check the bottom of your container for the best by date before opening it.
If the date matches any of the specific dates on the recall list at strausfamilycreamery.com/recall, discard the product and visit that same page to request your replacement voucher.
Straus is working with retailers to pull remaining affected inventory from shelves.
Given the specific best by date window involved, December 2026 dates on containers that arrived in May, there is a realistic possibility that consumers who purchased this product before the recall was announced still have it in their freezers.
The recall was announced Wednesday. The FDA published the notice Friday. Consumers who purchase ice cream infrequently or who stock their freezers in advance may have purchased this product without seeing any news coverage of the recall.
Check the bottom of the container. If it is a Straus ice cream in one of the five affected flavors with a December 2026 best by date, stop eating it and visit strausfamilycreamery.com/recall.
