Stewart's Recalls Two Ice Cream Flavors Over Metal

Stewart's Shops Corp. announced a recall on October 2, 2026, for two flavors of half-gallon ice cream sold across New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire due to the potential presence of metal. The recall was triggered after a consumer reported finding a metal object inside a carton. The company asks consumers not to eat the affected cartons and to return them to any Stewart's Shops location for a full refund.

Key takeaways

• Stewart's Shops Corp. announced a recall on October 2, 2026, for two half-gallon ice cream flavors sold in NY, VT, and NH due to potential metal contamination.
• A consumer discovered a metal object inside a carton; no injuries or illnesses have been reported to date.
• The notice lists no lot codes; consumers identify affected cartons using the UPCs and specific Best By dates (Feb.10.27 and Feb.11.27).
• Affected products can be returned to any Stewart's Shops location for a full refund.

What happened

On October 2, 2026, Stewart's Shops Corp. of Saratoga Springs, New York, announced a recall of two half-gallon ice cream flavors. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) posted the company's announcement the same day. The company took action after a consumer discovered a metal object inside a half-gallon carton of ice cream.

The recall covers cartons sold at all Stewart's Shops locations in New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire between July 17, 2026, and October 2, 2026. The notice says the recall "is being made with the knowledge of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration." To date, no illnesses or injuries have been reported in connection with the recalled cartons.

The notice is posted on FDA's recalls page. For another recent recall over something that should not be in a package, see Mezzetta Peperoncini Recall: Check Lot 720106.

What changed

Two half-gallon flavors are now under recall in three states, and consumers who have them at home are told not to eat them.

Unlike many recalls, this one does not provide lot or batch codes. Instead, the product table in the official notice lists: "All products are ready-to-eat ice cream and intended to be consumed at home by consumers" in place of a lot number. Identification therefore relies on the flavor, the container size, the Universal Product Code (UPC), and the Best By date.

The specific products included in the recall are:

• Heavenly Medley: One Half Gallon (1.89L) paperboard carton, Best By Date "Feb.10.27", UPC 0 82086 44371 1
• Vanilla-Chocolate-Strawberry: One Half Gallon (1.89L) paperboard carton, Best By Date "Feb.11.27", UPC 0 82086 44377 3

The notice lists both as frozen, in paperboard cartons, with a shelf life of seven months. No other flavors, pint sizes, or packaging formats have been included in this public notice.

Who is affected

This recall affects anyone who bought these two half-gallon flavors at Stewart's Shops in New York, Vermont, or New Hampshire between July 17, 2026, and October 2, 2026. With a seven-month shelf life and Best By dates in February 2027, cartons bought over the summer may still be in home freezers.

The notice names only Stewart's Shops locations in those three states as points of sale.

The concern with metal is physical injury, not illness. The notice does not describe the size, shape or type of the metal object, and no injuries or illnesses have been reported.

What it means for shoppers

Check your freezer for half-gallon cartons of Stewart's ice cream. To determine whether a carton is part of the recall, verify three details on the packaging:

• Confirm the flavor: Only "Heavenly Medley" and "Vanilla-Chocolate-Strawberry" are part of this action.
• Check the package size: The recall applies strictly to One Half Gallon (1.89L) paperboard containers.
• Verify the UPC and Best By date: Look for Best By date "Feb.10.27" with UPC 0 82086 44371 1 for Heavenly Medley, or Best By date "Feb.11.27" with UPC 0 82086 44377 3 for Vanilla-Chocolate-Strawberry.

If your carton matches, the company's instruction is: do not eat it. Return the carton to any Stewart's Shops location to receive a full refund. Questions go to the company contact listed in the notice, Robin Cooper, at 518-248-0455.

The background

FDA handles hard or sharp objects in food under different criteria than germs or undeclared allergens. Germ-related recalls, such as the Frozen Berry E. coli Recall Expands to Trader Joe's, turn on illness risk; for metal, FDA looks at the object itself.

According to FDA's Compliance Policy Guide Sec. 555.425, hard or sharp foreign objects in food can cause traumatic injury, including lacerations and perforation of the tissues of the mouth, tongue, throat, stomach, and intestine, as well as damage to teeth and gums. FDA's Health Hazard Evaluation Board found that foreign objects less than 7 mm in maximum dimension rarely cause trauma or serious injury, except in special risk groups such as infants, surgery patients, and the elderly. Under the guide's criteria, a ready-to-eat product containing a hard or sharp object 7 mm to 25 mm long is considered adulterated.

That matters for ice cream because it is eaten as is, with no cooking, washing or sifting step that could catch an object. The Stewart's notice does not say how large the object was, so it is not possible to say how it measures against those criteria.

What to watch next

The company notice does not include a recall classification (Class I, II or III). If FDA classifies the recall, it will appear in the agency's weekly enforcement report.

There are several factual limitations in the publicly available documentation. The notice does not give the size, shape or type of the metal object, where it came from, or how many cartons were produced or sold.

It also does not say whether other Stewart's products were made on the same line. Any expansion would be posted as an update to the FDA notice.

For packaged foods you already have at home, you can scan the barcode with the Aurascan app to see each ingredient explained with cited sources.