Texas Fines Blue Bell $850,000 for Listeria Outbreak, with Conditions

Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P.
August 5, 2016

The Texas Department of State Health Services has announced that Blue Bell Creameries must pay $850,000 in connection with a 2015 outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes linked to the company’s ice cream manufacturing facilities.

Blue Bell must pay $175,000 within 30 days, but the remaining balance of $675,000 will not be due if the company follows the terms of its agreement with the state for 18 months.

The agreement requires Blue Bell to notify the agency of a presumptive positive test result for Listeria and to maintain “test and hold” procedures, through which the company must ensure that its ice cream is free of pathogens before shipping the products to retailers. See Texas Press Release, July 29, 2016.

Issue 613

Categories: Issue 613, Other Developments
Tags: ice cream, Listeria, pathogen

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Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P.

For decades, manufacturers, distributors and retailers at every link in the food chain have come to Shook, Hardy & Bacon to partner with a legal team that understands the issues they face in today's evolving food production industry. Shook attorneys work with some of the world's largest food, beverage and agribusiness companies to establish preventative measures, conduct internal audits, develop public relations strategies, and advance tort reform initiatives.

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