HOUSTON (AP) _ Blue Bell Creameries says it has likely identified the source of listeria contamination at its Oklahoma plant, but it may not be able to pinpoint a single source for the problem at its Texas plant.
The Texas-based company gave the information the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in response to federal inspections. The FDA publicly released the 35-page report Wednesday in response to a Freedom of Information request by The Associated Press.
Blue Bell said ice cream products at its facility in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, might have been contaminated by equipment and sealed-ingredient buckets stored in a non-sanitary room. But a contamination source hasn’t been found at its plant in Brenham, Texas.
The FDA also confirmed a surface area at Blue Bell’s plant in Alabama tested positive for listeria.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced Wednesday their investigation into the listeria outbreak from Blue Bell products is over.
But the CDC continues to advise not to eat Blue Bell ice cream and treats produced before their plants were closed.
According to Wednesday’s CDC news release, “people could continue to get sick because recalled products may still be in people’s freezers and consumers unaware of the recalls could eat them. Institutions should not serve and retailers should not sell recalled products.”
Blue Bell issued a news release Tuesday, stating in part “Blue Bell Creameries has provided the U.S. Food and Drug Administration a detailed list of corrective actions that are underway in response to the agency’s inspection reports of Blue Bell’s Brenham, Texas, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, and Sylacauga, Alabama, ice cream production facilities.”
Blue Bell’s latest statement did not indicate when any of its plants will reopen.
Click HERE to be directed to Blue Bell’s news release.
Click HERE to be directed to the CDC’s news release.
