On Thursday, Blue Bell Creameries released a statement updating “loyal customers” on the progress the company after a widespread product recall last March that claimed three lives and sickened multiple others.
The statement reads:
“We continue to strictly adhere to our enhanced operations, policies, employee training and cleaning procedures to help give regulatory agencies and the public assurance that all aspects of our facilities and operations are resulting in a safe product.
We continually reinforce to our employees that eliminating all potential sources of contamination is our number one priority so that we can stay committed to producing safe and high quality products for customers to enjoy.
Because Listeria is commonly found in the natural environment, no manufacturer can ever assume it can be entirely eradicated. We have worked closely with our expert team of microbiologists to develop an enhanced, robust testing system specifically designed for each facility to identify any possible presence of Listeria in the production environment, including extensive environmental testing and testing every single batch of ice cream we make before it is sold to customers.
We are pleased that our enhanced environmental and product testing procedures are working. We have identified locations where suspected Listeria species may be present in our facility, and we continue to extensively clean and sanitize those areas and make additional enhancements to the facility and our procedures based on the environmental test results. To confirm that our robust environmental program is effective, and that our “seek and destroy” goals are being achieved, we expect to periodically find microbiological indications in our facilities. Since our plants reopened, we have tested and will continue to test every batch of ice cream produced, and no products produced have tested positive for Listeria.
We will continue to work closely with our regulatory agencies, as we have throughout this process, and our number one priority will continue to be making sure our products are safe for our customers to enjoy.”
In late December, Blue Bell announced that their popular ice cream products would be reintroduced to five U.S. markets for the first time in nearly a year. By the time store shelves are fully restocked, Blue Bell’s furloughed employees will have returned to work.
Related articles:
DOJ Investigating Blue Bell's Listeria Outbreak
Blue Bell Workers Say Production, Money Over Cleanliness at Texas Plant
Blue Bell to Return in Select Markets Before Labor Day
First Blue Bell Plant to Resume Production After Massive Recall
FDA Report Show Blue Bell Food Safety Violations Date Back 8 Years
Blue Bell and the Very Real Impact of the Food Safety Modernization Act
FDA Says Blue Bell Listeria Contamination Dates Back to March 2013
Blue Bell Recalls All Products After Listeria Contamination
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