(from en.wikipedia.org)

1. FDA: Recall expanded for Blue Bell Ice Cream products
2. Blue Bell suspends operations at Oklahoma plant after listeriosis
3. Blue Bell expands recall to additional ice cream products
4. CDC: Number of people sickened by Blue Bell listeria outbreak grows
5. What to know about listeria bacteria and recent food recalls
6. Blue Bell working to get past listeria contamination scare
7. Blue Bell Creameries issues recall of all products
8. CDC: 10 listeria illnesses now linked to Blue Bell products
9. CDC using new technology to track listeria illnesses
10. 2nd U.S. ice cream maker stops production
11. Brenham prays for Blue Bell and victims after listeria ice cream recall
12. Blue Bell: Several months before ice cream back in stores
13. Blue Bell resumes production at Brenham plant after listeria recall

(UPDATED April 6, 2015 at 3:20 pm CT) — Blue Bell ice cream is known to be a staple in East Texas households. However, Blue Bell enthusiasts need to be cautious when selecting the frozen dairy products from local grocery stores due to a listeria scare.

“We’ve been asked to pull all half gallon, pints, and cup sized ice cream from our shelves,” said Rebecca Sanders, public relations director at Brookshire’s in Tyler.

The manufacturing plant believed to be the source of the listeria outbreak is Blue Bell Creameries plant in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. The plant is receiving a thorough examination to determine the exact cause of the listeria contamination. According to the Center for Disease and Control, consumers should throw out any products that were produced at the Blue Bell Plant in Oklahoma.

“This has been a voluntary recall by Blue Bell due to the possible presence of listeria monocytogenes. We were informed Saturday morning by the CDC,” Sanders said.

According to Sanders, all products made at the Oklahoma production facility can be identified by checking for letter “O,” “P,” “Q,” “R,” “S,” and “T” following the “code date” printed on the bottom of the product package. Products from Brenham, Texas are being delivered to Brookshire’s stores to replace the products that have recently been removed.

The recalled ice cream had been shipped to Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Wyoming.

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DALLAS (AP) — Two other large retailers have decided to pull Blue Bell Ice Cream from their shelves as a precautionary measure after the company announced it was temporarily closing an Oklahoma production plant.

Sam’s Club and Kroger have joined H-E-B in halting sales of Blue Bell products. The dairy company based in Brenham, Texas, last month issued a recall after ice cream contaminated with listeriosis was linked to three deaths at a Kansas hospital.

The foodborne illness was tracked to a production line in Brenham and later to a second line in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Blue Bell announced Friday that it had stopped all production at the Broken Arrow plant.

Company spokesman Gene Grabowski confirmed Monday that the number of large retailers pulling the ice cream has grown.

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