Blue Bell has decided to recall all of its products because of a potentially lethal listeria contamination.
In a statement, the Texas-based company said its ice cream, frozen yoghurt and other products could be contaminated with listeria.
Listeria can cause “serious and sometimes fatal infections”.
The recall began last month in response to the deaths of three people in Kansas who had eaten Blue Bell’s ice cream.
Tests later revealed that five people in Kansas and three in Texas had been made ill by the bacteria. A batch of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream was linked to the outbreak.
Blue Bell now says that after further inspections, it found the bacterial infection had contaminated not just one batch, but several of its factories.
It said it “can’t say with certainty” how the bacteria was introduced to the manufacturing line.
“We’re committed to doing the 100% right thing, and the best way to do that is to take all of our products off the market until we can be confident that they are all safe,” said Blue Bell CEO Paul Kruse in a statement.
Paul Kruse added the company would be instituting a new procedure called “test and hold”, in which all of its products will be tested first and held until the results indicate the products are safe.
This is the first recall in the 108-year-old company’s history.
It comes just a few weeks after Sabra Dipping Co recalled 30,000 cases of hummus, because of possible contamination with the same poisonous bacteria.
Listeria is a food-borne organism which can cause fever and nausea. In most cases, people make full recoveries.
The disease can be fatal to people with weakened immune systems and lead to miscarriages among pregnant women.
Thirty thousands of cases of hummus produced by Sabra Dipping Co have been recalled due to possible contamination with listeria.
The FDA announced the recall after inspectors discovered listeria during random testing at a Michigan retail store.
Listeria is a food-borne organism which can cause fever and nausea in most cases, and people make full recoveries.
The disease, listeriosis, can be fatal to people with weakened immune systems, and lead to miscarriages among pregnant women.
The national recall applied to Sabra Classic Hummus brand of the blended chickpea snack – five of its 60 products – although no illnesses have so far been reported.
The contamination was discovered on March 30 at a Kroger grocery store in Port Huron, Michigan.
This is the second food recall related to listeria in the US this week.
On April 9, Blue Bell Creameries expanded an earlier recall after an additional three people in Texas were made ill by its products, according to the CDC.
Three people in Kansas have already died from listeria outbreak.
One person died in California and other seven – including three newborns – have become ill in Maryland in a Listeria outbreak linked to Hispanic-style cheese.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Friday that the outbreak is linked to semi-soft, Hispanic-style cheese called Caujada en Terron that is sold from a chain of grocery stores in Maryland.
The cheese was made by Roos Foods of Kenton, Delaware. The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene issued a warning Wednesday to avoid products made by Roos Foods, which also sells cheese under the brand names Santa Rosa de Lima, Amigo, Mexicana, Suyapa, La Chapina, and La Purisima Crema Nica.
The CDC did not name the grocery chain linked to the outbreak.
The CDC said that Listeria outbreak is linked to semi-soft Caujada en Terron cheese that is sold from a chain of grocery stores in Maryland
The illnesses were diagnosed between August 1 and November 27 of last year. Seven of the eight were hospitalized. Five of the illnesses were related to a pregnancy.
Listeriosis is an infection caused by eating food contaminated with the bacterium listeria monocytogenes. Symptoms include fever and muscle aches and diarrhea. Seniors, pregnant women and newborns are particularly vulnerable to the illness.
In 2011, 33 people died in the US after consuming cantaloupe contaminated with Listeria.
Eric and Ryan Jensen, owners of the Colorado cantaloupe farm linked to a 2011 food poisoning outbreak which killed 33 people and sickened 147, have been arrested and charged with selling contaminated food.
Eric and Ryan Jensen face up to six years in prison and up to $1.5 million in fines.
The brothers did not adequately wash the melons before selling them, US officials say.
The Jensens called the outbreak a “terrible accident”.
The outbreak of listeriosis stretched from California to Virginia.
The brothers, owners of Jensen Farms, surrendered to US marshals and appeared briefly in federal court on Thursday afternoon.
Eric and Ryan Jensen, owners of the Colorado cantaloupe farm linked to a 2011 food poisoning outbreak which killed 33 people and sickened 147, have been arrested and charged with selling contaminated food
They pleaded not guilty to misdemeanour charges and were released pending trial in December.
The Jensens called the outbreak a “terrible accident” after their court appearance, the Associated Press news agency reported.
A spokesman for the federal prosecutors told the Associated Press they leveled the “most serious” charges they could, as stricter felony counts would required proof the contamination was intentional.
An FDA inquiry found the Jensens installed a new cantaloupe cleaning system – designed to clean potatoes – in 2011.
The system included a chlorine spray meant to remove bacteria, which was never used.
“The defendants were aware that their cantaloupes could be contaminated with harmful bacteria if not sufficiently washed,” the office of the US Attorney for Colorado said in a statement.
“Food processors… bear a special responsibility to ensure that the food they produce and sell is not dangerous to the public,” Attorney John Walsh said in the statement.
The Jensens’ actions resulted in at least six shipments of contaminated cantaloupe being sent to 28 states, officials said.
If convicted, Eric Jensen, 37, and Ryan Jensen, 33, face up to one year in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for each of the six counts against them.
The Crave Brothers Les Frerescheese is being recalled from supermarket shelves after it may have killed at least one person and caused a Listeria outbreak.
Listeria monocytogenes can lead to severe illness for children and women who are pregnant or people who have weakened immune systems.
In healthy people, Listeria can cause symptoms including high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhoea.
Whole Foods Market Inc. is one of those supermarkets recalling the cheese, which has sickened people in several states, according to theHuffington Post.
The FDA said five people between the ages of 31 and 67 have been hospitalized and one – an elderly person in Minnesota – died on Thursday as a result of the outbreak.
One pregnant woman is believed to have suffered a miscarriage as a result of contracting the disease. Cases were reported in Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.
Public health officials in Illinois said on Wednesday that one resident became sick after eating contaminated cheese in May, according to the Huffington Post.
The FDA said the Minnesota Department of Agriculture is testing samples of the cheese and early results indicate that there is Listeria present in the samples. Confirmation of these results is pending.
The Crave Brothers Les Freres cheese is being recalled from supermarket shelves after it may have killed at least one person and caused a Listeria outbreak
If ingested, Listeria can cause listeriosis, a rare and serious illness.
The cheese was sold in 30 states under names including Les Freres and Crave Brothers Les Freres.
On the company’s website, the cheese is described as: “This European style cheese was developed with care to reflect the Crave Brothers’ Irish-French heritage.
“It is a rich rind washed cheese with an earthy, fruity flavor. It tastes wonderful served with fruits and breads, paired with wine or in a cheese course.”
The cheese was cut and packaged in clear plastic wrap and sold with Whole Foods Market scale labels.
Whole Foods has now started posting signs in its stores to inform customers about the recall and said customers should throw away the cheese and bring in their receipts for a full refund.
Crave Brothers, which is based in Waterloo, Wisconsin, has announced a voluntary recall of Les Freres, Petit Frere, and Petit Frere with Truffles cheese made on July 1 or earlier.
It said the cheeses were distributed around the country through retail and food service outlets and mail order.
The president of Crave Brothers, George Crave, issued a statement on its website, saying: “We are cooperating with the regulatory agencies’ ongoing investigation of the cause of the potential health risks.”
The website urges its customers who have purchased any of the products “not to consume them”.
In 2011 a Listeria outbreak related to tainted cantaloupes sickened 147 and killed 33 people, according to the ABC.
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