Blue Bell Creameries Recalls Certain Products Over Listeria Risk
Listeriosis is a dangerous kind of food-borne illness, and is caused by the Listeria monocytogenes bacteria. (Photo: Flickr/ Laura Gilchrist )
Bad news for Blue Bell ice cream lovers.
The Food and Drug Administration is investigating a potential listeriosis outbreak tied to some Blue Bell Creameries products made at the company’s Brenham, Texas, facility. The product is suspected in five cases of listeriosis in Kansas, including three deaths.
Blue Bell has issued a recall on the following affected products (the recall does not include cups, pints, and half-gallons of ice cream):
Chocolate Chip Country Cookie - SKU # 196
Great Divide Bar - SKU #108
Sour Pop Green Apple Bar - SKU #221
Cotton Candy Bar - SKU #216
Scoops - SKU #117
Vanilla Stick Slices - SKU #964
Almond Bars - SKU #156
6 pack Cotton Candy Bars - SKU #245
6 pack Sour Pop Green Apple Bars - SKU #249
12 pack No Sugar Added Mooo Bars (not including regular Mooo Bars)- SKU #343
Listeriosis is a form of food-borne illness, caused by the Listeria monocytogenes bacteria. It causes symptoms of muscle aches, fever, diarrhea, and chills. For the elderly, people with lowered immune systems, pregnant women, and people with other health conditions, it can even be deadly.
Related: The Most Common Sources of Food Poisoning
According to the FDA, five people were sickened with listeriosis at a hospital in Kansas; four of these people had consumed prepackaged, single-serve Blue Bell ice cream products at the hospital. Health officials found the same strains of listeria that caused the listeriosis at the Kansas hospital were also in certain products manufactured at the Brenham Blue Bell facility.
Blue Bell has removed the affected products from the market, and the production line that manufactured the affected products has been shut down.
Blue Bell issued the following statement regarding the product recall on its website:
For the first time in 108 years, Blue Bell announces a product recall.
One of our machines produced a limited amount of frozen snacks with a potential listeria problem.
When this was detected all products produced by this machine were withdrawn. Our Blue Bell team members recovered all involved products in stores and storage.
This withdrawal in no way includes our half gallons, quarts, pints, cups, three gallon ice cream or take-home frozen snack novelties.
