Roundup: Blue Bell recalls products around the globe, China on the list

A recall by Texas-based Blue Bell Creameries of all of its products amid a Listeria bacteria outbreak linked to 10 illnesses, including three deaths, has reached around the globe to China, where the U.S. ice cream company has been selling since 2014.

"Our products are distributed in Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning. All distributors were made aware of the recall and notified to remove Blue Bell products from their markets," Jenny Van Dorf, public relations market specialist at Blue Bell Advertising Associates, told Xinhua Wednesday.

Dorf said that the dairy company, which originated from a small town outside of Houston, Texas, more than a century ago, contacted food service, convenience stores and supermarket distributors last week in 24 states and around the world to voluntarily recall all of its products, mainly ice cream, frozen yogurt, sherbet and frozen snacks.

According to Chinese authorities, around 40.5 tons of Blue Bell products have been shipped to China since February 2014, more than 10 percent of which was sold and consumed, while the rest have been recalled. So far, there is no report of illness related to the products.

As of April 21, 10 people with listeriosis related to the current outbreak have been confirmed from Arizona, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, including three deaths reported from Kansas, according to information provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Consumers who have purchased Blue Bell products are being urged by the company to return them to the place of purchase for a full refund.

On April 20, the company said in a news release that its products "had the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems."

Short-term symptoms of contamination from Listeria include high fever, severe headaches, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea. In pregnant women, infection from the Listeria organism can cause miscarriages and stillbirths.

"We're committed to doing the 100 percent right thing, and the best way to do that is to take all of our products off the market until we can be confident that they are all safe," Paul Kruse, Blue Bell chief executive officer and president said in the company's news release. "We are heartbroken about this situation and apologize to all of our loyal Blue Bell fans and customers. Our entire history has been about making the very best and highest quality ice cream and we intend to fix this problem."

A partial recall was initiated by Blue Bell Creameries after a product sampling showed that half gallons of its Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream produced March 17 and March 27 were contaminated by Listeria.

Since the partial recall began, additional testing at company plants revealed that Listeria was found in another half-gallon ice cream. This led the company to place all of its products on the recall list and to bring in food safety microbiologists to inspect plants and systems.

"While we initially believed this situation was isolated to one machine in one room, we now know that was wrong," Kruse said in the news release.

Kruse also said that the company is implementing a procedure to test and hold for release pending further safety tests all products made at all of its manufacturing facilities.

Additional safety procedures and testing at the facilities include expansion of daily cleaning and equipment sanitizing programs, increasing the swabbing and testing at plants to reach more surfaces, sending samples daily to a microbiology laboratory for testing and providing additional employee training.

"At this point, we cannot say with certainty how Listeria was introduced to our facilities," Kruse said. "We continue to work with our team of experts to eliminate this problem."

Consumers with concerns or questions can visit the company's web site, www.bluebell.com, for updated information.

"We want enjoying our ice cream to be a source of joy and pleasure, never a cause for concern, so we are committed to getting this right," Kruse said. Endite