Lidl Gelatelli Coffee & Vanilla Gelato Recalled for Listeria

On October 16, 2026, Lidl US announced a voluntary recall of one lot of Gelatelli Coffee & Vanilla Gelato with Coffee Sauce & Cookie Pieces (16 FL OZ / 1 PT), and the FDA posted the notice on October 17, 2026. Only Lot 085261, Best By MAR/26/2028, is recalled because of potential Listeria monocytogenes contamination found through routine quality testing. No illnesses have been reported to date.

Key takeaways

• On October 16, 2026, Lidl US announced the recall, and the FDA posted the notice on October 17, 2026.
• Only Lot 085261 (UPC 4 0564897 22458, Best By MAR/26/2028) is recalled. The lot and date are printed on the bottom of the clear plastic container with a brown lid.
• The hazard is potential Listeria monocytogenes contamination, identified by routine quality testing of a lab sample. No illnesses have been reported to date.
• The product shipped from 7/19/2026 to 10/15/2026 to Lidl US stores in nine states and DC. Shoppers can discard it or return it to any Lidl store for a full refund with no receipt required.
• Listeria can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in newborns, adults over 65, and people with weakened immune systems. Questions go to the Lidl US Customer Care Hotline at (844) 747-5435, Monday-Saturday 8 am-8 pm ET.

What happened

Lidl US announced a voluntary recall of one lot of Gelatelli Coffee & Vanilla Gelato with Coffee Sauce & Cookie Pieces in a company announcement dated October 16, 2026, which lists Arlington, VA. The FDA posted the notice on October 17, 2026, and it remains the primary public record of the action.

The notice names one hazard: potential contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. The company says routine quality testing identified the bacterium on a lab sample. The date of the positive test, and whether the sample was a finished-product or environmental sample, were not disclosed.

The notice states that no illnesses have been reported to date.

Is Lidl gelato being recalled?

Yes. Lidl US is recalling one lot of its Gelatelli Coffee & Vanilla Gelato with Coffee Sauce & Cookie Pieces, sold in a 16 FL OZ (1 PT) container, because of potential Listeria monocytogenes contamination. The company announced the recall on October 16, 2026, and the FDA posted it on October 17, 2026.

What changed

The action is a voluntary recall limited to a single lot. The notice says only Lot 085261 is affected. Whether other Gelatelli flavors share the same production line was not disclosed, so shoppers should check the lot code on any Gelatelli container rather than assume the recall covers the whole product line.

What Gelatelli gelato lot is recalled for Listeria?

Lot 085261 is recalled for potential Listeria monocytogenes contamination. The Best By date is MAR/26/2028, and the UPC is 4 0564897 22458. The lot number and date are printed on the bottom of the container, which is clear plastic with a brown lid.

Several details were not disclosed. The notice does not give the number of units in the lot, and the manufacturer or co-packer is not named beyond Lidl US. No FDA recall classification has been published for it yet.

Who is affected

The recalled lot shipped from 7/19/2026 to 10/15/2026 to all Lidl US stores in Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Virginia. The notice therefore covers nine states plus DC.

The notice does not describe sales outside those locations, and it does not say how many containers reached shoppers. Anyone who bought this lot in those stores should check the container bottom for Lot 085261 and Best By MAR/26/2028.

Which states sold the recalled Lidl Gelatelli gelato?

The recalled lot shipped from 7/19/2026 to 10/15/2026 to all Lidl US stores in Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Virginia. The notice names those locations and no others.

What it means for shoppers

The fastest check is the bottom of the container. Look for these details before deciding what to do:

• Product name: Gelatelli Coffee & Vanilla Gelato with Coffee Sauce & Cookie Pieces
• Size: 16 FL OZ (1 PT)
• Lot: 085261
• Best By: MAR/26/2028
• UPC: 4 0564897 22458
• Packaging: clear plastic container with a brown lid

A product that matches all of these details is part of the recall. Matching the product name alone is not enough, because the notice covers only this lot.

The Nutrition Facts panel and ingredient list will not show Listeria. Listeria monocytogenes is a bacterium that contaminates food, not an ingredient, so a clean-looking ingredient list does not rule out contamination. Lot numbers and recall notices are the relevant checks for this issue.

What should I do with recalled Gelatelli gelato?

Discard the product or return it to the nearest Lidl store for a full refund, and no receipt is required. Questions can go to the Lidl US Customer Care Hotline at (844) 747-5435, open Monday-Saturday 8 am-8 pm ET.

The health context matters for who should be most careful. The FDA's Listeria page says invasive listeriosis is potentially life-threatening, especially for newborns, adults over 65, and people with weakened immune systems. The Lidl notice says Listeria can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy people may have short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. The notice also says infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths.

The FDA notes that L. monocytogenes has been found in foods including ice cream and can survive and grow even under refrigeration. Keeping a product cold is therefore not a reliable way to make a recalled item safe to eat.

Shoppers comparing coffee-flavored dairy products can read ingredient lists in our Coffee mate vs International Delight: Ingredients and Sugar guide. That guide covers ingredients, not contamination, so it cannot substitute for a lot check.

The background

Listeria monocytogenes is a bacterium that the FDA describes as a foodborne pathogen. The FDA states that it has been found in foods including ice cream. This recall began with a lab sample from routine quality testing, which is a common way contamination is identified before illnesses are reported. The notice does not say how the bacterium entered the product, and the investigation details were not disclosed.

Recalls for other hazards have also drawn attention recently. A separate recall of raw cheddar tied to E. coli has a different pathogen and different product details, so it should be checked on its own terms. See Family Farmstead Raw Cheddar Recall: Check Best By 7/22/27 for that notice.

What to watch next

Several open questions remain. No FDA recall classification has been published for this lot yet, so watch the FDA recall pages for an update. The notice also did not disclose the number of units in the lot, the manufacturer or co-packer, or whether other Gelatelli flavors share the production line.

Has anyone gotten sick from the Gelatelli gelato recall?

No illnesses have been reported to date, according to the FDA notice. That statement reflects reports known at the time of the announcement, not a finding that no one was exposed.

Want to know what is in the frozen desserts you buy? Scan the ingredient list on your next pint with the Aurascan app and read what each ingredient is. A scan does not replace a recall notice, so check the lot code on any container you own.