Blue Bell directed its delivery route drivers to remove remaining stock of the two products from store shelves, but the company did not recall the products or issue any formal communication to inform customers about the potential Listeria contamination.
According to the plea agreement, Texas state officials notified Blue Bell in February 2015 that samples of two ice cream products from the company’s Brenham, Texas factory tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes, a dangerous pathogen that can lead to serious illness or death in vulnerable populations such as pregnant women, newborns, the elderly, and those with compromised immune systems. The plea agreement and criminal information filed against Blue Bell allege that the company distributed ice cream products that were manufactured under insanitary conditions and contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, in violation of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. “The health and safety of our service members and their dependents is of paramount importance.” “The results of this investigation reflect the determination of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service to hold companies that sell food products to the military accountable and ensure they comply with food safety laws,” said Michael Mentavlos, Special Agent-in-Charge of the DCIS Southwest Field Office. We will continue to pursue and bring to justice those who put the public health at risk by distributing contaminated foods in the U.S. “Americans expect and deserve the highest standards of food safety and integrity. “The health of American consumers and the safety of our food are too important to be thwarted by the criminal acts of any individual or company,” said Judy McMeekin, Pharm.D., Associate Commissioner for Regulatory Affairs, U.S. “The sentence imposed today sends a clear message to food manufacturers that the Department of Justice will take appropriate actions when contaminated food products endanger consumers.” “American consumers must be able to trust that the foods they purchase are safe to eat,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. The $17.25 million fine and forfeiture amount is the largest-ever criminal penalty following a conviction in a food safety case. District Judge Robert Pitman in Austin, Texas, was consistent with the terms of a plea agreement previously filed in the case. to pay $17.25 million in criminal penalties for shipments of contaminated products linked to a 2015 listeriosis outbreak, the Justice Department announced today.īlue Bell pleaded guilty in May 2020 to two misdemeanor counts of distributing adulterated ice cream products. A year earlier, six people were infected with Listeria in Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese Company cheese products-one person died.A federal court in Texas sentenced ice cream manufacturer Blue Bell Creameries L.P. Other recent dairy outbreaks include a 2014 outbreak of Listeriain cheese and dairy products produced by Oasis Brands, Inc. In 1994, 200,000 people became ill from eating Schwan’s ice cream that had been transported by a distribution truck that had previously transported non-pasteurized liquid eggs contaminated with Salmonella. issued a voluntary recall of several of its ice cream, gelato, custard and sorbet products when they tested positive Listeria, and sickened two people. In December 2014, Snoqualmie Gourmet Ice Cream, Inc. It’s not the first time contaminated ice cream has sickened Americans. The liquid form of the ice cream goes through the machine when it’s not yet frozen, but around 40 degrees, and it’s a great place for to grow,” says Marler. “Likely what happened is the piece of machinery was contaminated.
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