Blue Bell Ice Cream is expanding its recall to include all its flavors made with cookie dough, as the dough may be contaminated with listeria monocytogenes.
The dough, created by third-party supplier Aspen Hills Inc., tested positive for listeria. No one has reported getting sick after eating the ice cream, but the company is recalling the flavors out of an abundance of caution.
It was Blue Bell that identified “a potential problem through intensified internal testing” and notified the supplier, Blue Bell said in a statement.
The company has initiated the recall with the help of the Food and Drug Administration.
Check your freezer for Blue Bell Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough or Blue Bell Cookie Two Step half-gallons or pints that were produced between February 2 and September 7, 2016. Three-gallon containers of Blue Bell Blue Monster, Blue Bell Chocolate Chip Cookie or Blue Bell Krazy Kookie Dough, typically sold to retailers, for those same dates are also subject to the recall. If you have a recalled product, throw it out or take it back to the store where you bought it for a refund.
A list of the codes associated with these products can be found on the company’s website.
The product was distributed to Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.
Listeria can cause fatal infections, particularly with vulnerable populations including people who are elderly, children and people with underlying medical conditions. Otherwise healthy people who get sick from listeria typically suffer short-term problems that can include a high fever, stomach issues, headaches and stiffness, and an infection can cause a woman to miscarry.
This is not the first time the Brenham, Texas-based company has recalled its products. Last year, Blue Bell had to stop production and issue a massive recall for all of its products, also due to a listeria outbreak.
Questions about the recall can be directed to 979-836-7977 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Time Monday through Friday.
