Listeria scare: Blue Bell orders massive recall of all ice cream products

Listeria scare: Blue Bell orders massive recall of all ice cream products

Blue Bell CEO Paul Kruse said he was "heartbroken" over the situation, and authorities are urging customers to get rid of Blue Bell products they have at home.

Blue Bell ice cream products are being yanked from the shelves of retailers in 23 states and consumers are being told to toss any they’ve purchased over concerns about an outbreak of Listeria.

The Texas-based company issued a voluntary recall last night after one of the samples for its ice cream tested positive for Listeria, a potentially deadly bacteria, according to a CBS News report.

It’s a huge and extremely rare recall in its scope after a sample of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream set off alerts in the company and a scrambled to get all products out of stores until the problem could be fixed.

A Listeria infection can result in symptoms such as fever, nausea, diarrhea, and others, and it can be deadly in those with weakened immune systems.

Blue Bell CEO Paul Kruse said he was “heartbroken” over the recall, according to the report. He added that he doesn’t know where the bacteria came from, but pledged that his company would find out.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention linked Blue Bell products to three deadly Listeria cases in Kansas not long ago, and the outbreak was pinpointed to a production line in Brenham, Texas, and another line in Oklahoma. The facility remains closed as the investigation continues.

Blue Bell said it is taking steps to expand its sanitizing system as well as increasing employee training to prevent another outbreak from happening again.

Customers who have purchased Blue Bell items are asked to return them to where they bought the product, where they will get a full refund.

Blue Bell was founded in 1907 and sells its products mostly in the Southern United States, and is the third-highest-selling ice cream brand in the U.S. It has also notably been eaten aboard the International Space Station.

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