Multi-state Listeria Outbreak Linked to Blue Bell® Ice Cream

April 21, 2015 – Paul Kruse, Blue Bell® CEO and president, said the company is “heartbroken” over the need to recall all of its products from store shelves nationwide. Another potential health risk was identified in half gallon containers of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream (UPC# 0 71899-03720 0), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“At every step, we have made decisions in the best interest of our customers based on the evidence we had available at the time,” Kruse said in a press release. “At this point, we cannot say with certainty how Listeria was introduced to our facilities and so we have taken this unprecedented step. We continue to work with our team of experts to eliminate this problem.”

Blue Bell® said retailers around the country have been instructed to stop selling the products. If you have any Blue Bell® ice cream, you should discard it immediately or return it to where you purchased it for a full refund.

At least 8 people in 2 different clusters have developed listeria infections linked to Blue Bell® ice cream, according to the CDC. Three people have died.

The illnesses were first reported in 5 patients at a Kansas hospital, and 3 others at a hospital in Texas. All of the patients had eaten Blue Bell® ice cream before falling ill.

Blue Bell Creameries announced that it is “expanding its recall of products that were produced in the Broken Arrow, Okla., plant to include Banana Pudding Ice Cream pints which tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes, and additional products manufactured on the same line.” The expanded recall resulted, at least in part, from the FDA’s April 7, 2015, notification to Blue Bell that Banana Pudding Ice Cream pint, produced in the Broken Arrow, Okla., plant on February 12, 2015, tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes.