Ice cream product line recalled due to bacteria

If you’re trying to beat the summer heat with an ice cream treat, skip this brand for now.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday said the Texas-based Blue Bell Creameries had voluntary recalled all its products after some samples tested positive for listeria, a potentially deadly food-borne bacteria.

In an advisory, FDA officer in charge Nicolas Lutero III said the ice cream company initiated the recall last month in response to the listeriosis outbreak in the United States, which has been linked to three deaths so far in Kansas this year.

The recall included ice cream, sherbet, frozen yogurt and other frozen snack products distributed in 23 states and other international markets. Reports showed that contamination was traced to a production line in Brenham, Texas, and later to batches made at its plant in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.

Philippine distributors—Visfood Corp. based in Cebu and Circle City Sales & Trading Corp. in Mandaluyong City—have also recalled all Blue Bell products in the market, Lutero said.

“Listeriosis is a rare but serious illness caused by eating food contaminated with the bacterium called Listeria monocytogenes,” he said.

The bacterium can be found in soil, water and some animals, with the highest incidences found in meat, poultry and seafood products. It can also be present in raw milk and food made from raw milk and can also thrive in food processing plants.

Listeria infection may have very serious effects on pregnant women, newborns, the elderly and people with impaired immune systems. Its symptoms include chills, fever and muscle aches, which are sometimes preceded by diarrhea and stomach cramps.

Lutero advised consumers who have purchased Blue Bell products to get in touch with the local distributors: Visfood Corp. at (032) 3163379 and Circle Sales at 0917-6245854.