Ice Cream Recall 2015 Expanded For Fear Of Listeria Contamination
Blue Bell Creameries has been under fire since pints of their Banana Pudding Ice Cream produced at Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, tested positive for listeria contamination. Having distributed their frozen products to more than 20 states in the country, Blue Bell has now announced the expansion of its ongoing product recall.
Last Tuesday, the ice cream company released a statement that no illnesses in relation to the Oklahoma pints have been confirmed. Nonetheless, Blue Bell halted the operations of their Oklahoma production facility and has decided to further their recall.
Blue Bell expands ice cream recall over listeria concerns: http://t.co/RWVUnZQxfM pic.twitter.com/mOcETZKeCM
— FOX59 News (@FOX59) April 8, 2015
Blue Bell’s recall now includes other ice cream flavors made at the said plant, namely Butter Crunch, Mint Chocolate Chip, Cookies ‘N Cream, Homemade Vanilla, Dutch Chocolate, and Moo-ilennium Crunch. Additionally, the company is also recalling three-ounce cups, pints, and quarts of Rainbow, Orange and Mixed Berry Sherbert.
Three flavors of half-gallon sizes have also been included in the recall. These half-gallon flavors include Pistachio Almond, Homemade Vanilla, and Homemade Vanilla Light.
According to Blue Bell, the said ice cream products “have the potential” to compromise the health of children, elderly people, and individuals with weakened immune systems. Even healthy adults are at risk of experiencing some short-term symptoms such as fever, headache, and diarrhea. Furthermore, listeria infection can be very harmful to pregnant women, as it can cause miscarriages and stillbirths.
This is why the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention took action and called out to the public not to patronize any Blue Bell products made at the company’s Oklahoma facility. Consumers can differentiate these potentially harmful products through the code date stamped on the bottom. Oklahoma-made products carry codes that end in O, P, Q, R, S, or T.
Even supermarket chains are participating in the effort to prevent a listeria outbreak. King Soopers has opted to contact its customers who bought Blue Bell products that may be contaminated with listeria. Using information from loyalty cards, the supermarket company called each of the customers to warn them about Blue Bell’s potentially harmful products.
Blue Bell launched its recall in response to a listeria outbreak in the past year. The outbreak occurred in a hospital in Kansas, where five patients were allegedly infected by listeria after consuming milkshakes made with Blue Bell ice cream. Three of them died.
According to Blue Bell, this is the company’s first time conducting a product recall in their 108 years of operation.
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