Blue Bell to pay $17 million penalty for listeria outbreak
Texas ice cream maker Blue Bell Creameries has been ordered to pay $17.25 million in criminal penalties for the deadly 2015 listeria outbreak that led to the deaths of three people and forced the ice cream maker to recall all its products.
The sentence against the Brenham-based ice cream maker was handed down Thursday by U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman in Austin, the U.S. Justice Department said.
Blue Bell pleaded guilty in May to two misdemeanor counts of distributing adulterated ice cream products. The sentence “was consistent with the terms of a plea agreement previously filed in the case,” according to the Justice Department. The $17.25 million fine and forfeiture amount is the largestever criminal penalty following a conviction in a food safety case, the Justice Department said.
“American consumers must be able to trust that the foods they purchase are safe to eat,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark of the Justice Department's Civil Division said in a written statement. “The sentence imposed today sends a clear message to food manufacturers that the Department of Justice will take appropriate actions when contaminated food products endanger consumers.”
The company said in a Thursday that the court action “closes a difficult chapter in Blue Bell's history.”
“We learned hard lessons and turned them into determination to make the safest, most delicious ice cream available, with upgraded production facilities, training, safety procedures, and environmental and product testing programs,” the company said in a written statement. “Food safety is our highest priority, and we know we must continue to be vigilant every day.”
The Justice Department said Thursday that since reopening its facilities in late 2015, “Blue Bell has taken significant steps to enhance sanitation processes and enact a program to test products for Listeria prior to shipment.”
Judy McMeekin, U. S. Food and Drug Administration associate commissioner for regulatory affairs, said the FDA will continue to “pursue and bring to justice” those who put the public health at risk by distributing contaminated foods in the U.S. marketplace.
Bill Marler, a Seattlebased lawyer who is an expert on food- borne illness and helped settle two cases related to the listeria outbreak, said it is unusual for the federal government to intervene in a contaminated food case.
“It's really unique, as is the fact that these fines were so enormous,” Marler said. “The message the government is sending is that you shouldn't poison your customers and that if you do, you'll be held accountable both civilly and criminally. It's a big deal and a big signal.”
Blue Bell, one of the country's largest ice cream makers, suffered significant financial losses due to the listeria outbreak. The company, which got its start 111 years ago, shut down production for a time in 2015 and recalled 8 million gallons of ice cream after reports of listeria started coming in. In all, 10 people fell ill and three died.
During the 2015 shutdown, Blue Bell deep-cleaned its plants in Brenham, which is about 90 miles east of Austin, in Sylacauga, Ala., and in Broken Arrow, Okla. It also replaced some equipment and reworked procedures.
The shutdown resulted in hundreds of layoffs that affected local industries such as manufacturing, retail and tourism. Blue Bell's Brenham plant saw more than 20,000 tourists in the year prior to shutting down, according to the Washington County Chamber of Commerce.
Amid the shutdown, Fort Worth billionaire Sid Bass announced plans to invest in Blue Bell in a move he said would help the company stay afloat.
In 2018, the state of Texas said it had completed an enforcement agreement with Blue Bell that allowed operations to resume under expanded monitoring.
Blue Bell's former CEO Paul Kruse was separately charged in May with criminal conspiracy. Kruse, who retired in 2017, was facing felony charges alleging that he directed a conspiracy to conceal unsanitary conditions and the deadly listeria outbreak.
Pitman dismissed the case against Kruse in July after the Justice Department conceded he did not waive his right to be indicted by a grand jury, which prosecutors did not seek due to the coronavirus outbreak. Prosecutors said in a court filing that the ongoing pandemic “prevented a safe meeting of the grand jury and constituted a considerable exigent circumstance.”
Marler said the agreement will allow Blue Bell to move forward after years of legal issues.
“It's likely that they will survive this,” he said. “With Kruse gone and this plea and sentence done, they have a chance to move on and hopefully avoid a problem like this in the future.”