Blue Bell, Alabama reach agreement for ice cream safety

The Alabama Department of Public Health and Blue Bell Creameries came to an agreement about new sanitation and production procedures on Monday, June 1, in an effort to bring the brand's products back to stores.

“We hope that the agreement between Blue Bell and the Alabama Department of Public Health will reassure our customers that we are taking the necessary steps to bring Blue Bell Ice Cream back to the market,” Paul Kruse, Blue Bell CEO and president said in a press release. “We are committed to making these changes so that we meet the high standards and expectations of our customers and our regulatory agencies.

"Blue Bell will also continue to work cooperatively and transparently with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.”

In March, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a recall on 10 frozen snacks because of a potential Listeria contamination.

Listeria monoctogenes, according to a press release from the FDA, is "an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems."

Orginally, only the following items were recalled: Chocolate Chip Country Cookie; Great Divide Bar; Sour Pop Green Apple Bar; Cotton Candy Bar; SCOOPS; Vanilla Stick Slides; Almond Bar; 6-pack Cotton Candy Bars; 6-pack Sour Pop Green Apple Bars; and 12-pack NSA Mooo Bars.

Later, Blue Bell voluntarily took all products off shelves.

The agreement made with Alabama outlines actions Blue Bell is required to take in order to assure the public that products are safe.

These actions include: having "an independent sanitation and/or microbiology expert" to determine if the measures to prevent future contamination are in place; "conduct root cause analysis for the purposes of identifying potential or actual sources of contamination;" and after trial phase before introducing products back on the market, "institute a 'test and hold' program for all finished product to be introduced into commerce for a period of one year."

The agreement made with Alabama is similar to those made in Texas and Oklahoma, according to the press release.