Federal inspection reports indicate that the Blue Bell Creamery in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, tested positive to listeria on five separate occasions beginning in March of 2013. The FDA says that traces of listeria were found on a freezer floor on March 19, 2013, by health inspectors. However, that was only the beginning. Listeria traces were found again in 2014 and 2015. However, it wasn’t until three people died from the contaminated ice cream products that Blue Bell issued a recall and closed down three creameries for cleaning.
The Statesman reports that FDA federal inspection records show that the Blue Bell recall should have come as no surprise to the company, as traces of listeria were found in the facilities on five separate occasions between 2013 and the deadly outbreak. The first incident involving listeria occurred on March 19, 2013, when traces of listeria were found on a freezer floor in the Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, creamery.
After each of the five instances of listeria being discovered in the facilities, Blue Blue spokesman Joe Robertson notes the area was cleaned until listeria was no longer detected. However, he is now admitting that the cleaning was not enough and that the company will be taking steps to ensure their employees are trained on proper decontamination procedures.
“Several swab tests did show the presence of listeria on non-food surfaces in Blue Bell’s Broken Arrow plant in 2013. As is standard procedure for any such positive results, the company would immediately clean the surfaces and swab until the tests were negative. We thought our cleaning process took care of any problems, but in hindsight, it was not adequate, which is why we are currently conducting such a comprehensive re-evaluation of all our operations.”
The FDA report goes into detail about the surfaces contaminated by listeria and includes a freezer floor, a pallet jack, a catwalk, half-gallon fillers, a drain and a water hose. The FDA report indicates to the company that their cleaning procedure is not adequate and that overhaul is needed. However, it wasn’t until the recall of all Blue Bell products that a new procedure was introduced within the company.
As a result of the massive recall, Blue Bell Creameries has closed all three of its plants in Oklahoma, Texas, and Alabama while the facilities are decontaminated in their entirety. In addition, employees will undergo training in proper cleaning procedure.
Blue Bell announced a complete recall of all of its products after two smaller recalls listing specific items. The ice cream was linked to 10 listeria illnesses in four states, including three deaths.
[Image Credit: Blue Bell Facebook]
Blue Bell Tested Positive For Listeria On Five Separate Occasions Starting In 2013 Prior To Deadly Outbreak is an article from: The Inquisitr News
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