Blue Bell narrows down contamination source
Creamery linked to listeria cases examines facilities
HOUSTON — A massive recall has brought more attention and put more pressure on a century- old Texas ice cream company that has been searching to discover how its products became linked to a deadly string of listeria cases.
Texas- based Blue Bell Creameries said Tuesday, a day after recalling all its products, that it is getting closer to pinpointing the cause of the contamination. Amid those efforts, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday that the number of illnesses linked to the company’s products has increased to 10.
“As each day passes, we are getting closer to figuring out how this listeria was introduced into our facilities. ... It’s a matter of doing the work and not making excuses,” said Blue Bell spokesman Joe Robertson.
The company said a team of microbiologists is working with federal officials at its four facilities in Texas, Oklahoma and Alabama to identify the cause of the listeria. Blue Bell is also expanding its cleaning and sanitization system.
Blue Bell, which has been in business for 108 Shelves are bare where Blue Bell products were displayed in a grocery store in Overland Park, Kansas. years, also said that under a new policy, it will test all products produced at its facilities before sending them out to retailers.
Listeria primarily affects pregnant women and their newborns, older adults and people with immune systems weakened by cancer, cancer treatments, or other serious conditions. Two more illnesses have now been confirmed in Oklahoma and Arizona. The CDC had previously reported eight illnesses in Kansas and Texas, including three deaths in Kansas linked to ice cream contaminated with listeria.
Dr. Robert Tauxe of the CDC said the cause of an outbreak is almost always dirty equipment. Listeria occurs naturally in soil and water, and it could be tracked into a plant on an employee’s shoes, introduced through animal feces or spread by employees not washing their hands. It can survive forever if it’s not cleaned up.