Blue Bell Ice Cream Recalls All Products, Additional Cases Linked Through Retrospective DNA Matching

The CDC is reporting that 10 Listeria related illnesses dating back to 2010 have been attributed to Blue Bell Ice Cream.  While 8 cases had been reported, the additional 2 cases were identified through a 'retrospective analysis' using DNA data (verified via whole genome sequencing) to match isolates to different illness cases.

Blue Bell had recalled all of its products at all of its facilities.  A very bold move done due of the uncertainty of findings in the facility and inability to find the exact source.

 

 

CDC News Release

http://www.cdc.gov/listeria/outbreaks/ice-cream-03-15/index.html
Multistate Outbreak of Listeriosis Linked to Blue Bell Creameries Products
Posted April 21, 2015 11:45 AM ET
Highlights
Read the Advice to Consumers, Institutions, and Retailers>>(http://www.cdc.gov/listeria/outbreaks/ice-cream-03-15/advice-consumers.html)
Read the Information for Health Professionals>>(http://www.cdc.gov/listeria/outbreaks/ice-cream-03-15/health-professionals.html)
On April 20, 2015, Blue Bell Creameries voluntarily recalled all of its products currently on the market made at all of its facilities, including ice cream, frozen yogurt, sherbet, and frozen snacks, because they have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. Blue Bell announced this recall after sampling conducted by the company revealed that Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream half gallons produced on March 17, 2015 and March 27, 2015 contained the bacteria.

CDC recommends that consumers do not eat any Blue Bell brand products, and that institutions and retailers do not serve or sell them.
Listeriosis is a life-threatening infection caused by eating food contaminated with the bacterium (germ) Listeria monocytogenes. People at high risk for listeriosis include pregnant women and their newborns, adults 65 and older, and people with weakened immune systems.
This is a complex and ongoing multistate outbreak investigation of listeriosis illnesses occurring over several years. Several strains of Listeria monocytogenes are involved in this outbreak. Information indicates that various Blue Bell brand products are the source of this outbreak.
As of April 21, 2015, a total of ten people with listeriosis related to this outbreak have been confirmed from 4 states: Arizona (1), Kansas (5), Oklahoma (1), and Texas (3). Three deaths were reported from Kansas.
April 21, 2015
Case Count Update

As of April 21, 2015, a total of ten patients infected with several strains of Listeria monocytogenes were reported from four states: Arizona (1), Kansas (5), Oklahoma (1), and Texas (3). Illness onset dates ranged from January 2010 through January 2015. The patients with illness onsets ranging from 2010-2014 were identified through a retrospective review of the PulseNet database for DNA fingerprints that were similar to isolates collected from Blue Bell ice cream samples. Since the last update on April 8, 2015, two additional patients, one each from Arizona and Oklahoma, were confirmed to be a part of the outbreak by whole genome sequencing. All ten (100%) patients were hospitalized. Three deaths were reported from Kansas.

One additional isolate from a patient with listeriosis is undergoing further molecular laboratory testing to determine whether this illness may be related to this outbreak. Results of this testing will be reported once they are available. CDC and state and local public health partners are continuing laboratory surveillance through PulseNet to identify any other ill persons that may be part of this outbreak.
Investigation Update

On April 20, 2015, Blue Bell Creameries voluntarily recalled all of its products currently on the market made at all of its facilities, including ice cream, frozen yogurt, sherbet, and frozen snacks, because they have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. Blue Bell announced this recall after sampling by the company revealed that Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream half gallons produced on March 17, 2015 and March 27, 2015 contained the bacteria. Listeria monocytogenes was previously found in other Blue Bell products. CDC recommends that consumers do not eat any Blue Bell brand products, and that institutions and retailers do not serve or sell them.

State and local health officials, CDC, and FDA continue to work closely on this investigation, and new information will be provided on this website as it becomes available

FDA Recall Notices
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm443724.htm
Blue Bell Creameries Voluntarily Expands Recall to Include All of its Products Due to Possible Health Risk

Contact: Consumer: 1-866-608-3940
Media: Joe Robertson 979-830-9830 media@bluebell.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – April 20, 2015 – BRENHAM, TX – Blue Bell Ice Cream of Brenham, Texas, is voluntarily recalling all of its products currently on the market made at all of its facilities including ice cream, frozen yogurt, sherbet and frozen snacks because they have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headaches, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.

“We’re committed to doing the 100 percent 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 Paul Kruse, Blue Bell CEO and president. “We are heartbroken about this situation and apologize to all of our loyal Blue Bell fans and customers. Our entire history has been about making the very best and highest quality ice cream and we intend to fix this problem. We want enjoying our ice cream to be a source of joy and pleasure, never a cause for concern, so we are committed to getting this right.”

The products being recalled are distributed to retail outlets, including food service accounts, convenience stores and supermarkets in 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, Wyoming and international locations.

Today’s decision was the result of findings from an enhanced sampling program initiated by Blue Bell which revealed that Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream half gallons produced on March 17, 2015, and March 27, 2015, contained the bacteria. This means Blue Bell has now had several positive tests for Listeria in different places and plants and as previously reported five patients were treated in Kansas and three in Texas after testing positive for Listeria monocytogenes.

“At every step, we have made decisions in the best interest of our customers based on the evidence we had available at the time,” Kruse said. “At this point, we cannot say with certainty how Listeria was introduced to our facilities and so we have taken this unprecedented step. We continue to work with our team of experts to eliminate this problem.”

Blue Bell is implementing a procedure called “test and hold” for all products made at all of its manufacturing facilities. This means that all products will be tested first and held for release to the market only after the tests show they are safe. The Broken Arrow facility will remain closed as Blue Bell continues to investigate.

In addition to the “test and hold” system, Blue Bell is implementing additional safety procedures and testing including:
Expanding our already robust system of daily cleaning and sanitizing of equipment
Expanding our system of swabbing and testing our plant environment by 800 percent to include more surfaces
Sending samples daily to a leading microbiology laboratory for testing
Providing additional employee training

Blue Bell expects to resume distribution soon on a limited basis once it is confident in the safety of its product.

Consumers who have purchased these items are urged to return them to the place of purchase for a full refund. For more information consumers with questions may call 1-866-608-3940 Monday - Friday 8 a.m. - 8 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. CST or go to bluebell.com.



 CNN.com
http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/20/health/blue-bell-ice-cream-recall/
CDC: Blue Bell listeria outbreak dates to 2010

By Ralph Ellis and Holly Yan, CNN
Updated 6:58 PM ET, Tue April 21, 2015

CNN)The listeria outbreak that prompted Blue Bell Creameries to recall their entire product line dates to 2010, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

After weeks of gradual recalls, the company recalled all its ice cream, frozen yogurt, sherbet and other frozen treats sold in 23 states because they could be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, the company said Monday. The bacteria can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, the elderly and others with weak immune systems.

The CDC recommends consumers do not eat any Blue Bell brand products.

Three people in Kansas have died in the past year and 10 people in four states have fallen ill from the bacteria believed to have come from Blue Bell products, the CDC said Tuesday. One person became sick in Arizona, five in Kansas, one in Oklahoma and three in Texas, the CDC said.

People first became sick in January 2010, the CDC said. The agency connected patients from 2010-2015 to the current outbreak through comparisons to a database of bacteria DNA.

The origin of the strain is still unknown, but "the fact that it was the same strain over the last five years suggests it could have lurked somewhere in the factory the whole time," said Dr. Robert Tauxe, deputy director of the CDC Division of Foodborne, Waterborne and Environmental Diseases.


Tauxe said there may be more people sickened by listeria than the CDC knows about. The "rough estimate" is one more case exists for every case the CDC hears about, he said.

"There may be cases that never got diagnosed and we are looking at the patterns, the DNA patterns, to guide us to which cases might be related," he said. "If tomorrow someone found another completely different pattern from (Blue Bell) ice cream products, we'd be looking to see if there were related cases to that as well."

Tauxe said the listeria strains found in Texas are different than those found in Oklahoma.

"It looks to us like there was one group of closely related strains related to ice cream from one factory and another different group related to a different factory," Tauxe said. "We don't think something contaminated both factories."

Blue Bell decided to yank all its products after tests showed some half-gallon containers of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream contained listeria.

"This means Blue Bell has now had several positive tests for Listeria in different places and plants," the company said in a written statement.

"At this point, we cannot say with certainty how Listeria was introduced to our facilities, and so we have taken this unprecedented step," the company said.

The outbreaks

Listeria didn't get into ice cream through the milk because Blue Bell uses pasteurized milk, Caroline Smith DeWaal, director of food safety for Center for Science in the Public Interest, told CNN on Tuesday.

But listeria could have been carried on foods like nuts that go into ice cream, she said. It can live for years on surfaces such as drains or pipes.

"Listeria can lay in a drain for years," she said. "To get rid of it they'd have to take the equipment apart and clean it. It's a big job to control listeria in a plant."

Tauxe said, "Within the factories it can get around and may have hung out and appeared in more than one place in the factory. ... The persistence of listeria inside the factory is what's important to address."

DeWaal said the listeria probably wasn't linked to Blue Bell in 2010 because one case wouldn't spark a full investigation. Other culprits, such as cheeses and deli meats, would be considered before ice cream products, because listeria can't grow in frozen temperatures, she said.

"Ice cream wouldn't have been one of the suspect foods in investigating those earlier cases," she said.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment said three people in the state died from listeria there over the past year, possibly due to Blue Bell products.

All five of the people who got sick in Kansas were patients being treated at the same hospital for unrelated causes, state health officials said.

Four of them drank milkshakes at the hospital made with Blue Bell ice cream, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. It's not clear whether the fifth patient at the Kansas hospital had also consumed Blue Bell ice cream.

In a separate outbreak in Texas, three patients were infected with listeria between 2011 and 2014. Tests of those listeria strains "were nearly identical to Listeria strains isolated from ice cream produced at the Blue Bell Creameries' Oklahoma facility," the CDC said.

In March, Blue Bell recalled 3-ounce cups of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry ice cream after a test found listeria in one of the cups in Kansas.

Earlier this month, the recall expanded to some pints and half-gallon sizes of ice cream.

This recall is not only affecting big chain grocery stores. One small ice cream shop in Texas has temporarily closed due to the recall.

John Hayes, owner of Waffle Cone in Copperas Cove, Texas, said he exclusively uses Blue Bell. He received a phone call Monday night from Blue Bell letting him know a local driver will be picking up his 190-200 gallons of recalled ice cream this week.

"It is the third recall in the last month," said Hayes. "I was upset, but more disappointed."

The shop owner has dealt with a shortage in flavors before, but nothing of his severity.

"It will be at least three, maybe four weeks for Blue Bell to replace the order," he said.

The symptoms

Listeria monocytogenes can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people and others with weakened immune systems, the Food and Drug Administration says.

In the United States, an estimated 1,600 people become seriously ill with listeria each year; about 16% of these cases result in death.

Although some people might suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, listeria can also cause miscarriages and stillbirths.

The promise

Blue Bell CEO and President Paul Kruse promised to make sure all products are safe before they go back on sale.

"We're committed to doing the 100 percent 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," Kruse said in a statement on the company's website.

"We are heartbroken about this situation and apologize to all of our loyal Blue Bell fans and customers."

Blue Bell said its new safety measures will include more extensive cleaning and sanitizing of equipment; increasing the swabbing and testing of facility surfaces by 800%; providing more employee training; and sending samples to a lab for testing every day.