Updated Recall and Outbreak Information: On April 20, the Blue Bell Creameries recall was expanded to include all of its products made at all of its plants. In addition, there are now 10 CDC-confirmed cases of listeriosis in 4 states: Arizona, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
Five patients at Via Christi Hospital in Wichita, Kansas, contracted listeriosis, with illness onset dates from 2014 through January 2015. Three of the patients died.
The outbreak was initially investigated by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, which analyzed hospital records available for four patients and found that all four were served ice cream products made by Blue Bell Creameries.
Finding the Smoking Gun
Listeriosis is caused by food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. To determine the food source of an outbreak, genetic testing is done on:
- Listeria isolates from patients;
- food; and
- environmental swabs from locations where the food was made, distributed and sold.
In this outbreak, four strains of Listeria monocytogenes bacteria sickened the patients.
Listeria in Blue Bell Ice Cream at South Carolina Distribution Center
On February 12, 2015, the South Carolina Department of Health & Environmental Control collected samples of Blue Bell Creameries products during routine product sampling at a South Carolina distribution center.
Tests done on samples from two of these products were positive for three of the four outbreak strains of Listeria and four additional strains of Listeria. The two Blue Bell ice cream products with positive findings were the following:
- Chocolate Chip Country Cookie Sandwich
- Great Divide Bar.
These products were made at the Blue Bell Creameries’ manufacturing facility in Brenham, Texas.
The FDA was notified, and the Kansas outbreak investigation became national, with concerns that people in other states could have been sickened by the ice cream.
Listeria Found in Products at Blue Bell Facility
After the finding in South Carolina, the Texas Department of State Health Services collected samples for testing from Blue Bell Creameries products at the company’s Brenham facility. The following three products tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes:
- Chocolate Chip Country Cookie Sandwich
- Great Divide Bar
- Scoops.
These were all made on the same production line. The company issued a recall of the above products (see below) and shut down the production line where the products were made.
How Does Ice Cream Get Contaminated with Listeria?
The mode of contamination varies, but in this outbreak, it was equipment used on one production line.
Listeria bacteria occur naturally in the soil and water. It can enter a plant via shoes, forklift wheels or a contaminated ingredient. If the bacteria get into a crevice of a piece of equipment, food that comes in contact with that equipment can be contaminated.
Are You, Your Spouse or Your Parent Part of This Outbreak?
To date, there are five confirmed cases that are part of this outbreak. Those families were notified by health officials. Our law firm has been contacted by one of these families, and you can click here now to contact our lawyers about a personal injury or wrongful death claim against Blue Bell.
If a family member is sick but you don’t know if he or she is part of the outbreak, you can click here now to contact our lawyers for help.
The video below may help. Attorney Fred Pritzker discusses the 5 things you can do if you think your loved one has listeriosis.
Our law firm generally files individual Listeria lawsuits for our clients, not class action suits. There are many reasons for this, but the most important one is that we do what we think is best for our clients. Please contact Fred or another Listeria lawyer at our firm for more information about this.
Blue Bell Ice Cream Recall
The products below may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes and should not be eaten:
- Ice Cream Banana Pudding pint – 021217S
- Ice Cream Butter Crunch pint – 021917S
- Ice Cream Mint Chocolate Chip pint – 022017S
- Ice Cream Cookies ‘n Cream pint – 030317S, 030617S
- Ice Cream Homemade Vanilla pint – 030417S
- Ice Cream Dutch Chocolate pint – 032317S
- Ice Cream Moo-llennium Crunch pint – 032417S, 032517S
- Rainbow Sherbet pint – 021717S, 021817S, 022317S, 030217S
- Orange Sherbet quart – 032617S
- Mixed Berry Sherbet quart – 032717S
- 3 oz Tab Lid Cup *institutional use only* Rainbow Sherbet – 022417S, 022617S, 022717S
- Gold Rim Half Gallon – Ice Cream Homemade Vanilla half gallon – 030917T, 031017T, 031117T, 031217T, 031617T, 031717T, 031817T
- Brown Rim Half Gallon – Ice Cream Pistachio Almond half gallon – 031317T
- Ice Cream Homemade Vanilla Light half gallon – 031917T
- Ice Cream Cup Chocolate (3 fl. oz.) – SKU # 453
- Ice Cream Cup Strawberry (3 fl. oz.) – SKU #452
- Ice Cream Cup Vanilla (3 fl. oz.) – SKU #451
- 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 – SKU #343
The regular Mooo Bars, available at grocery stores, are not subject to recall.
As in this outbreak, listeriosis can be fatal. The elderly, people with weakened immune systems and pregnant women are most at risk. If a pregnant woman eats food contaminated with Listeria, she may not get very sick, but the infection may cause miscarriage, stillbirth, premature labor, and serious illness or death in newborn babies.