Blue Bell to resume distributing ice cream to select markets

Blue Bell Creameries will resume distributing ice cream to select markets in Texas and Alabama this month after halting sales and production following listeria contamination.

The Brenham, Texas-based company said Monday that it plans to re-enter parts of 15 states in five phases. The first phase, which starts Aug. 31, will include the Brenham, Houston and Austin areas in Texas and the Birmingham and Montgomery areas in Alabama.

The Blue Bell production plant in Sylacauga (sihl-uh-KAW’-guh), Alabama, began producing ice cream in July. Production facilities in Brenham and Broken Arrow, Okla., are still undergoing upgrades similar to those made at the Alabama plant.

Blue Bell in April voluntarily recalled all products after its treats were linked to 10 listeria illnesses in four states, including three deaths in Kansas.

Republished with permission of The Associated Press.