Possible choking hazard forces Friendly’s to recall ice cream

WILBRAHAM, Mass. – Friendly Ice Cream Corp. said Friday that it is recalling one lot of half-gallon packages of “Apple Pie a la Mode, Limited Edition” ice cream because it may contain small pieces of a soft, beige, rubber-like material that could pose a choking hazard.

The Wilbraham-based company said it has received one report of an incident of choking and cautioned that people should not consume the recalled ice cream.

The voluntary recall affects half-gallon packages of the ice cream flavor marked with the lot code “25-26 WC5 SEP 22 04.” The code appears just above the “Nutrition Facts” on the label.

The recalled flavor was sold in supermarkets, convenience stores and Friendly’s Restaurants in Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Virginia, Vermont, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

Company spokeswoman Maura Tobias did not immediately return a telephone call.

However, the company said in a prepared statement that it appears the material entered the product during manufacture of the ice cream. It learned about the material from three incidents reported by consumers, the company said.