MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) _ Blue Bell is beginning a trial run of ice cream production at its Alabama plant after a national recall that followed a series of listeria illnesses.
Alabama Health Officer Don Williamson said Wednesday the company notified the department that it will begin a trial run of production later this month. The ice cream will not be sold to consumers. Williamson says both state health officials and Blue Bell will test the product for listeria.
The company issued a national recall and shut down production after the company’s ice cream was linked to 10 listeria illnesses in four states, and three deaths in Kansas.
The contaminated products have been found at the company’s Texas and Oklahoma plants, but so not at its Sylacauga, Alabama, facility.
According to KRLD radio in Dallas, Blue Bell entered into similar agreements with the state health departments in Texas and Oklahoma, with the trial production period lasting at least two weeks in Texas. However, according to the Texas Department of Health, Blue Bell has not reported any plans to produce ice cream at the two Texas plants.
