Blue Bell Ready for Business as Usual After Listeria Outbreak
According to reports, Blue Bell Creameries is asking federal regulators to let up and allow the Texas-based ice cream maker to get back to business as usual following a deadly Listeria outbreak. Contaminated ice cream products are believed to caused at least 10 illnesses in four states. The outbreak ultimately claimed three lives in Kansas.
Since the outbreak and close government oversight, Blue Bell has been forced to destroy any and all products that are even suspected of having traces of Listeria--even if testing ultimately proves that is not the case. This practice has resulted in the loss of thousands of cartons of product, and millions of dollars too. Now, the company would like to pull back, only destroying products that actually test positive for microbiological contamination.