--- title: Blue Bell Creameries Contaminated Ice Cream: How It Happened description: How three people in Kansas have died after eating contaminated Blue Bell Creameries brand ice cream products. canonical: https://time.com/3744962/ice-cream-contaminated-kansas-blue-bell-creameries/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-14T17:41:14.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:05:04.023Z article:section: Health og:title: How Ice Cream Gets Contaminated—and Sometimes Kills og:description: What could have caused 3 deaths in Kansas og:url: https://time.com/3744962/ice-cream-contaminated-kansas-blue-bell-creameries/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltee5d7ec0d3f34b41/6987839bcd1bba7d716f5af4/blue-bell.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1500 og:image:height: 844 og:image:alt: Blue-Bell og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How Ice Cream Gets Contaminated—and Sometimes Kills twitter:description: What could have caused 3 deaths in Kansas twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltee5d7ec0d3f34b41/6987839bcd1bba7d716f5af4/blue-bell.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How Ice Cream Gets Contaminated—and Sometimes Kills > Sponsored content. 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Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Mar 14, 2015 5:41 PM UTC  A container of recalled Blue Bell ice cream. A container of recalled Blue Bell ice cream. Blue Bell by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Mar 14, 2015 5:41 PM UTC Three people in Kansas have [died after eating contaminated Blue Bell Creameries brand ice cream](http://time.com/3744901/kansas-patients-die-ice-cream/) products. A total of five people were infected, and the ice cream has been recalled. But how does ice cream get tainted in the first place? The bacteria that contaminated the ice cream is called _Listeria_ _monocytogenes,_ and [according to](http://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/listeria/index.html) the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 1,600 Americans get sick from _Listeria_ every year. It’s the third leading cause of death from food poisoning. It’s the same bacteria that [contaminated caramel apples from California](http://www.cdc.gov/listeria/outbreaks/caramel-apples-12-14/index.html) in January, causing 35 people in 12 states to get sick, and killing seven. The bacteria grows very well at refrigerator temperatures, even as low as 40 degrees Fahrenheit. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says that the longer ready-to-eat refrigerated foods are stored in the fridge, the [more opportunity the bacteria has to grow](http://www.fda.gov/Food/RecallsOutbreaksEmergencies/Outbreaks/ucm438104.htm). “It’s why it’s a problem for cooler foods like ice cream and cheese,” says Bill Marler, a food safety lawyer in Washington state. **MORE:** [3 Kansas Patients Die From Tainted Ice Cream](http://time.com/3744901/kansas-patients-die-ice-cream/) The FDA was able to confirm that three strains of the bacteria came from a single Blue Bell production line at one facility in Brenham, Texas, though the agency has not disclosed a precise point of contact. Blue Bell [says](http://cdn.bluebell.com/BB%5Fwithdrawal) one of its machines produced the problem. “Likely what happened is the piece of machinery was contaminated. 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 \[listeria\] to grow,” says Marler. It’s not the first time contaminated ice cream has sickened Americans. In December 2014, Snoqualmie Gourmet Ice Cream, Inc. [issued a voluntary recall](http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm427940.htm) of several of its ice cream, gelato, custard and sorbet products when they tested positive Listeria, and [sickened two people](http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/snoqualmie-making-ice-cream-again-after-listeria-problems-resolved/). In 1994, 200,000 people [became ill](http://time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/2011-06-vitalsigns.pdf) from eating Schwan’s ice cream that had been transported by a distribution truck that had [previously transported](http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199605163342001#t=articleBackground) non-pasteurized liquid eggs contaminated with _Salmonella_. Other recent dairy outbreaks include a [2014 outbreak of ](http://www.cdc.gov/listeria/outbreaks/cheese-10-14/index.html)[_Listeria_](http://www.cdc.gov/listeria/outbreaks/cheese-10-14/index.html)in cheese and dairy products produced by Oasis Brands, Inc. Five people became ill and one died. A year earlier, [six people were infected](http://www.cdc.gov/listeria/outbreaks/cheese-07-13/index.html) with _Listeria_ in Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese Company cheese products—one person died. ### You Asked: Your Top 10 Health Questions Answered  You Asked: Are Cleanses Healthy? Potions that claim to clear your body of toxins might sound alluring, but do they deliver? Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: Is Eating Dessert Really That Bad For Me? Bad news for sweet-eaters—except if you end your meals with this kind of treat. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: What’s the Best Way to Whiten My Teeth? 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