Blue Bell issues voluntary recall due to listeria concern

Another blow to Blue Bell after another recall involving the ice cream synonymous with the state of Texas.

 

This recall involves an outside supplier and the company's plant in Alabama, but residents in Brenham know it could all have implications at headquarters.

 

"You're going to have cuts and stuff if you have profits going down," said Dillon Tobin, a student at Blinn College. "That could be detrimental to anybody working there."

 

"Without the ice cream, nobody really has jobs here," adds resident Lina Alvarado, "without the ice cream."

 

In a statement released Wednesday, the company said the recall of certain flavors was voluntarily issued "because they were made with a chocolate chip cookie dough ingredient supplied by a third-party supplier Aspen Hills, Inc., due to the potential for it to contain listeria monocytogenes."

 

It went on to say, "Blue Bell identified a potential problem through intensified internal testing and notified Aspen Hills. Aspen Hills then issued a voluntary recall of the products supplied to Blue Bell."

 

The particular ice cream can be identified by the code date found on the bottom of the carton. In the meantime, residents and customers we spoke to believe the company will survive this latest recall.

 

"Even when there was listeria found in the Blue Bell here, it seems like most people didn't really mind," said Cameron Mitschke. "They still ate the ice cream."

 

The products produced with the chocolate chip cookie dough pieces were distributed in the following 10 states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.

 

No illnesses have been reported to date. The recall is being conducted in cooperation with the FDA.

 

Consumers should not eat the recalled products and are encouraged to return them to the place of purchase for a full refund.

The contaminated products can be found by the code date on the bottom of the carton. 

Blue Bell Ice Cream pint code dates:

Blue Bell Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough: 081518242, 082418242

Blue Bell Ice Cream half gallons code dates:

Blue Bell Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough: 082618226

Blue Bell Cookie Two Step: 080418222, 081818224

For more information, consumers with questions may call 979-836-7977, Monday – Friday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. CST.

 


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