Plant Cleared as Tampering Source in Ice Cream Case

Glass could not have entered Lady Lee ice cream during the manufacturing process, state food and agriculture investigators said Monday, and officials with Lucky Stores Inc. announced they will resume production of the frozen desserts at their Buena Park factory.

The grocery chain recalled its ice cream products from 463 Lucky and Gemco supermarkets in California, Nevada and Arizona over the weekend and halted production after glass fragments were found in containers in five cities in California and Arizona--Oakland, Sacramento, Bakersfield, Modesto and Phoenix. No one was injured in the incidents.

Lucky spokeswoman Judy Decker said the firm is “greatly relieved” by the finding. “. . . We intend to resume making Lady Lee ice cream as soon as possible,” she added.

Company officials declined to speculate on the source of the contamination, other than to rule out the possibility of tampering during manufacture. After two inspections, a team of investigators with the state Department of Food and Agriculture said the plant was “designed specifically to protect the product from adulteration.”