Texas-based ice cream manufacturing company Blue Bell Creameries on Monday issued a voluntary recall for all of its products currently on the market over threat of listeria contamination.
According to the company, the large-scale recall was ordered after two samples of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream was tested positive for the potentially fatal bacteria.
In a statement, CEO Paul Kruse said that the company has not certain evidence about how the bacteria were introduced to its facilities.
Among the products included in the recall are ice cream, sherbet, frozen yogurt and frozen snacks across 23 states and foreign locations as other products “have the potential to be contaminated,” the statement said.
Kruse said, “We are committed to doing the 100 percent right thing, and the best way to do that is to take all of our products off the market until we can be confident that they are all safe.”
The ice cream manufacturer had earlier carried recalls in March and April over the similar contamination concerns.
The recently contaminated samples were found during a testing program initiated by the firm following its first recall, the statement said.
The latest recall extends to retail outlets in Arkansas, Arizona, Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Kansas, Missouri, Mississippi, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Texas, Wyoming and several other international locations.
The company is going to implement a testing process for all of its products before finally making their market release. Currently, it has planned to resume limited distribution soon.