The deadly Listeria outbreak linked to Dole prepackaged salads has expanded to nine states sickening 18 people, one of whom has died, according to the latest update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). All 18 people were hospitalized; one of them was a pregnant woman. Since the last update from the CDC on January 28, the outbreak has spread to one more state - Ohio, and grown to include three more illnesses. Health officials used DNA "fingerprinting" to identify the outbreak. The first illness was reported July 15, 1015, the most recent illness reported was on January 31, 2016. Laboratory tests and epidemiologic evidence indicate that bagged salads produced at Dole's Springfield plant are the likely source of this outbreak, according to the CDC. These salads … [Read more...]
Blue Bell Restarts Limited Ice Cream Production After Listeria Outbreak
After a deadly Listeria outbreak triggered a shutdown of its ice cream manufacturing facilities, Blue Bell Creameries is restarting production on a limited basis. During a test period, production will resume at the company's plant in Sylacauga, Ala. where changes to the facility, the process and employee training have been put in place. A firm date for the start of ice cream sales has not been set. “We have been working diligently to prepare our facilities to resume test production, and our focus throughout this process has been to ensure the public that when our products return to market, they are safe,” said Greg Bridges, vice president of operations for Blue Bell. “We are very excited about taking these important first steps as part of the process of getting high-quality Blue Bell … [Read more...]
Blue Bell Listeria Lawsuit Assigned to Judge Lee Yeakel
The nation's first lawsuit filed in the Blue Bell ice cream Listeria outbreak has been assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Lee Yeakel in Austin, Texas. The case centers on the near-fatal illness in Houston suffered by the associate executive director of a 462-apartment continuing care retirement community who regularly ate the type of Blue Bell ice cream that state and federal authorities have linked to the outbreak. D. Philip Shockley, 32, sued Blue Bell Creameries USA Inc. on May 19. The ice cream lawsuit alleges that Shockley's devastating listeriosis infection was caused by tainted products that Blue Bell made in facilities infested with the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes. Judge Yeakel was appointed to the federal bench in 2003 by President George W. Bush after confirmation by … [Read more...]
Why It Was Important for Texas Listeria Patient to Sue Blue Bell
D. Philip Shockley was in such pain and physical distress that he collapsed inside his Houston area apartment, where he was later found unconscious by a co-worker who was concerned about his unexplained absence from work. The 32-year-old retirement center director had gone to the emergency room for care, but had been sent home with symptoms the doctors believed were due to a migraine headache. Instead, Mr. Shockley was suffering from Listeria meningitis with encephalitis and he remained unconscious for six days. He awoke in the intensive care unit of a local hospital, unable to walk, talk, swallow, see properly or move much of his body. Now living with permanent neurological damage and other threats to his health, Mr. Shockley's federal Listeria lawsuit against the maker of Blue Bell ice … [Read more...]
FDA Report on Blue Bell Broken Arrow, OK Ice Cream Plant
The Listeria monocytogenes outbreak linked to Blue Bell ice cream has sickened 10 people and killed three of those patients. The FDA has issued a report on each of Blue Bell's facilities after extensive inspections and investigations. We told you about the Brenham, Texas facility inspection report last week. Now here are details on the Broken Arrow, Oklahoma facility. The initial recall of Blue Bell ice cream was for product made at the Brenham facility. But officials in Kansas conducted an investigation at the Via Christi hospital kitchen after a Listeria outbreak there earlier this year. An unopened single serving cup of Blue Bell ice cream taken from the hospital kitchen contained the pathogenic bacteria. That ice cream was made in the Broken Arrow plant. The inspection report … [Read more...]
Law Firm Files First Blue Bell Listeria Lawsuit
The first lawsuit against Blue Bell, stemming from the Listeria outbreak linked to Blue Bell ice cream, has been filed. The suit was filed on behalf of David Philip Shockley, a 33-year-old Maryland man who developed Listeria meningitis that left him with severe neurological impairment. The suit was filed May 19, 2015 in U.S. District Court in the Western District of Texas Austin Division. In 2013, Mr. Shockley was 31 years old and living in Houston, Texas where he worked as the Associate Executive Director and Nursing Facility Administrator at a retirement community that served single serving Blue Bell ice cream and other Blue Bell ice cream products, according to the complaint. While at work, Mr. Shockley regularly consumed Blue Bell products, he also purchased Blue Bell ice cream at … [Read more...]
After Listeria Outbreak, Blue Bell Agrees to New Food Safety Measures
After its ice cream was linked to a deadly Listeria outbreak, Blue Bell Creameries has agreed to new food safety rules set by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS). The company must take all of the steps outlined in the agreement before it can begin selling ice cream again Bell Bell's production facilities were temporarily closed after Listeria monocytogenes in its ice cream products. According to the terms of the agreement, Blue Bell has agreed to: Retain an independent sanitation and/or microbiology expert who can help the company assure that the plant and the equipment are properly prepared, maintained and operated to safely produce products that do not contain Listeria monocytogenes. Retain all test results and make them available to DSHS upon request. Notify DSHS … [Read more...]
FDA Inspection Report of Blue Bell Brenham, Texas Plant
The FDA has released three inspection reports of the Blue Bell ice cream facilities: one in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, one in Brenham, Texas, and the third in Sylacauga, Alabama. We thought it would be a good idea to cover each inspection report, since they highlight problems at the company that may have led to the Listeria monocytogenes outbreak that has sickened ten people and killed three. The problem was first discovered at the plant in Texas. The inspections on the Brenham, Texas plant were conducted on March 16, 2015 through May 1, 2015, according to the FDA Form 483, which is published after inspections. The inspection discovered multiple problems discovered long before the recalls started . The Great Divide Bar manufactured on 1/12/15, and Chocolate Chip Country Cookie, … [Read more...]
Attorney Discusses Blue Bell FDA Inspection Reports
Attorney Fred Pritzker, who is representing people sickened in the Blue Bell ice cream Listeria outbreak, discusses the FDA inspection reports about the company's facility. Since ice cream is a ready-to-eat food with no consumer "kill step" of cooking, any finding of Listeria monocytogenes bacteria in the plant is a serious issue. Listeria bacteria was present in the Broken Arrow, Oklahoma Blue Bell processing plant as early as March 2013, according to the report. Blue Bell was notified of its "improper cleaning" and continued to ship product from the facility. The company knew they had a "pervasive Listeria infestation in their plant. In the Broken Arrow, Oklahoma plant, they sanitized using normal procedures, and subsequent tests found more Listeria. In other words, the cleaning … [Read more...]
CDC Updates Listeriosis Outbreak Linked to Blue Bell Ice Cream
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated its investigation into the multistate outbreak of listeriosis linked to Blue Bell Creameries ice cream products. Ten people from four states have been sickened so far. Three people have died, and all ten people have been hospitalized. The CDC has produced an infographic about the outbreak, which traces the illnesses and the facilities where products that made people sick were made. Listeria was found in Blue Bell ice cream products and in the Oklahoma and Texas facilities where they were made. Blue Bell recalled all of its products on the market made at all facilities on April 20, 2015. That recall includes all of its ice cream, frozen yogurt, sherbet, and frozen snacks, because they may be contaminated with Listeria … [Read more...]
