Blue Bell Agrees to New Rules After Listeria Outbreak

Blue Bell Creameries, which produced ice cream linked to a listeria outbreak that left three people dead, has agreed to new voluntary regulations governing the sale of its products.

In a press release, the company announced that going forward, it will comply with revised sanitation procedures, testing protocols and production policies to prevent another outbreak. Specifically, Blue Bell will have to notify Texas and Oklahoma state agencies whenever any of its ingredients or products test positive for listeria monocytogenes.

“We are committed to meeting the high standards and expectations of our customers and our regulatory agencies,” Blue Bell CEO and President Paul Kruse said in the statement. “State and federal regulatory agencies play an important role in food safety, and we hope that it will be reassuring to our customers that we are working cooperatively with the states of Texas and Oklahoma in taking the necessary steps to bring Blue Bell Ice Cream back to the market.”

Currently all Blue Bell products have been recalled.