Blue Bell ice cream returns to stores in La., Miss.
Published 5:00 pm Monday, December 21, 2015
- Reflected in a freezer door, Dennis Olson fixes an adhesive sign thanking customers for waiting for the return of Blue Bell ice cream on its first day back in stores to Tyler, Texas, Monday, Dec. 14, 2015. Several flavors, manufactured at plants in Oklahoma and Alabama, rolled out to 170 stores around East Texas months after a bacterial infection was found in ice cream from several plants, prompting a recall and company-wide shut-down. (Andrew D. Brosig/Tyler Morning Telegraph via AP)
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Blue Bell ice cream is back in stores in Louisiana and Mississippi, eight months after listeria contamination halted sales and prompted cleanup of production plants.
Blue Bell was linked to 10 listeria cases, including three deaths in Kansas. Listeria bacteria can cause serious illness, especially in older adults, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems.
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On Monday, the company was delivering its ice cream to stores across Louisiana. In Mississippi, the company says it was delivering ice cream to stores in and around Jackson, the capital.
The Texas-based company is reintroducing its products back into its markets in phases.
As products return to stores, the company says it has brought back workers who were put on paid furlough. The company says it has brought back about 1,000 workers.
