Need a good idea for desserts this Christmas? How about a tub of Blue Bell?
Blue Bell Creameries is officially back at least in Mississippi and Louisiana after it was forced to recall its products and close its production facilities following a Listeria outbreak eight months ago.
The Texas company, which has been around for more than a hundred years, has already started serving Louisiana on Monday. It will also begin to resume its supply chain in Mississippi anytime soon, but the ice creams may be found in the Jackson area. The management has decided to take the reintroduction of their products in different phases.
Last September, a group of school children in Brenham, where the ice cream brand originated and continues to operate, got their taste of vanilla Blue Bell, a sign that the company is ready to go back to the market.
Early this year, Blue Bell was linked to a series of Listeria cases, which resulted to three deaths in Kansas. A known harmful bacterium, Listeria can serious symptoms like muscle aches, fevers, convulsions, confusion, and balance loss. However, it can become life threatening to certain groups such as pregnant women, older people, and those who already have weakened immune systems. For example, infected pregnant women may experience premature birth or stillbirth.
Due to the outbreak, the company was forced to issue its first-ever recall affecting dozens of products produced in suspected facilities in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, and Brenham. These recalled products were believed to be disposed in a sanitary landfill.
Meanwhile, the company had to close their facilities and suspend operations in some of its distribution centers in order to upgrade their safety standards and invest on new equipment. These centers are found in Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, Wichita, Kansas, and Las Vegas, Nevada, among others.
The company also threatened of completely shutting down operations until it's able to secure a $125 million loan.
