It took Texas-based ice cream company Blue Bell Creameries 108 years to reach its first-ever recall, but it turned out to be nothing short of catastrophic, as a few people became ill and even died from a major listeria contamination in several of their plants - but months later, after their factories have been thoroughly cleared, it's time for Blue Bell's return to shelves.
After a major listeria outbreak last spring that went through different states across the country, Blue Bell's return finally makes it to shelves in Texas, as the first shipment of ice cream made on their Alabama plant reaches headquarters in Brenham.
According to ABC13, the company announced Blue Bell's return to shelves in Texas last week on their official Instagram account, and they're taking things slow for the time being, with only four of their staple flavors reaching stores in the state: Homemade Vanilla, Dutch Chocolate, Cookies and Cream and The Great Divide.
Chron.com reports that Blue Bell's return to Texas comes after their Sylacauga, Alabama plant was given the okay after months of clearing up the premises following the listeriosis outbreak, earlier this month; because of this, customers in Houston, Austin, HQ Brenham and parts of Alabama will be getting the traditional southern ice cream back on shelves.
According to Khou, the company has made it clear that Blue Bell's return to parts of 15 states will come in phases, as it's currently only producing ice cream in their Alabama plant, while the company puts their other two plants, in Oklahoma and Brenham, through "process upgrades similar to those made at the Alabama plant."
For now, there are five phases planned for Blue Bell's return, starting with the current one: then, north central Texas and southern Oklahoma; the third phase is southwest Texas and central Oklahoma; fourth, most of Texas and southern Louisiana and fifth, the entirety of Oklahoma, Alabama, Texas and reintroducing to Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi and northern Louisiana.
