A few weeks ago, Blue Bell ice cream was linked to a listeria outbreak that caused three deaths and five illnesses.
It took a few weeks, but eventually, lawyers and consultants stepped in, ego’s faded and reality kicked in that three people died from eating Blue Bell ice cream. The flavor and size is irrelevant, what is important is operations were suspended (in other words, the plant was shut) in Oklahoma to address the contaminant issue. To be clear, there was also a contaminant issue in the Texas plant. What are they doing now: well to start, listening to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), who will be the supervising entity along with the FDA and local health officials who will be the final word that Blue Bell can get back in operation.
What’s going on inside the plant? My guess is the plant manager has given the directive to break down all equipment and clean, change pumps and seals, conduct plant infrastructure audit to see if any lines or controls need to be replaced, renew and re-train sanitation procedures, inspect all sewer and discharge water/product points, renew operation and procedure manuals, train operators and supervisors on good sanitation practices to name a few tasks.
The blow-back to all of this is not only the cost ($ millions) to address the break down in procedure and protocol, but more importantly, regain consumer confidence in the brand name. The products containing listeria were sold to distributors that make the deliveries to the institutional customers and in this case were hospitals.
To get back in the good graces and confidence of the buyers/customers will most definitely take a while, but the incident will be remembered and affiliated with the Blue Bell name and reputation as well as documented in textbooks forever
As a ice cream and dairy consultant, I address the importance of good sanitation practices and the importance of solid production procedures and general sanitation practices. It’s hard enough to start a business, recovering from customers getting sick on your product by eating food contaminated with bacteria, is 10 times harder. In most instances, it will put you out of business. My message to clients, “Don’t cut corners when it comes to product safety”.
Here is the April 4, 2015 article on the update…..
HOUSTON (AP) – Blue Bell Ice Cream announced Friday that it has suspended operations at an Oklahoma production facility that officials had previously connected to a foodborne illness linked to the deaths of three people.
“We are taking this step out of an abundance of caution to ensure that we are doing everything possible to provide our consumers with safe products and to preserve the trust we have built with them and their families for more than a century,” the company said in a statement.
Last month, the company and health officials said a 3-ounce cup of ice cream contaminated with listeriosis was traced to a plant in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. The now-recalled ice cream product – cups of chocolate, strawberry and vanilla – is not sold in retail locations and is shipped in bulk to “institutional accounts” such as hospitals in 23 states that comprise less than 5 percent of the company’s sales.
“We recommend that consumers do not eat any Blue Bell brand products made at the company’s Oklahoma facility and that retailers and institutions do not sell or serve them,” the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said late Friday.
Click on the link to read the entire AP wire.
http://wkbn.com/2015/04/04/blue-bell-suspends-operations-at-oklahoma-ice-cream-plant/
Contact Darryl if you want to learn how to keep your facility clean and sanitary and stay out of the news involving a product recall.
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