Texas-based Blue Bell Creameries has voluntarily recalled select ice cream products manufactured at its Sylacauga, AL plant after discovering pieces of chocolate chip cookie dough provided by a third-party supplier could potentially be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.
The products produced with the chocolate chip cookie dough pieces were distributed to Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
No illnesses have been reported to date. Blue Bell identified a potential problem through intensified internal testing and notified its supplier Aspen Hills, Inc. Aspen Hills then issued a voluntary recall of the products supplied to Blue Bell.
“Although our products in the marketplace have passed our test and hold program, which requires that finished product samples test negative for Listeria monocytogenes, Blue Bell is initiating this recall out of an abundance of caution,” the company said. “This recall is being conducted in cooperation with the FDA.”
Food safety protocols have been bolstered at Blue Bell after a Listeria contamination was found at all three Blue Bell plants — Texas, Oklahoma and Alabama — last year, resulting in a national recall of all company products. The company temporarily shut down operations following the discovery of Listeria monocytogenes in certain ice cream products that were linked to several cases of Listeriosis.
