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Federal investigators also discovered listeria at Blue Bell Creameries’ Alabama plant, bringing to a total of three the number of U.S. facilities for the Brenham-based company where the deadly pathogen has been discovered, according to dozens of new documents released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday.
The records show that the agency conducted the tests at the Sylacauga, Ala., plant in April and that of the samples taken, at least one showed evidence of the dangerous form of listeria. Sylacauga is a town of about 12,000, about 40 miles southeast of Birmingham.
FDA reports previously showed positive tests for listeria at Blue Bell’s plants in Brenham and in Broken Arrow, Okla.
The news comes on the heels of Blue Bell Creameries reaching a deal with Alabama health officials to improve safety measures earlier this month. Also this month, released federal records showed the company also was warned of leaks and hygiene issues at its ice cream production plant in that state as far back as 2011.
Wednesday’s release included dozens of documents, including Blue Bell’s responses to prior findings of condensation leaks and other concerns at their various plants. The company said it had addressed many of the concerns discovered by investigators in past years.
In a statement, the FDA said the records release is part of the agency’s investigation into the listeria outbreak.
“The FDA has released more than 25 additional documents related to inspections of Blue Bell Creameries, Inc. The documents include summaries of inspections performed by FDA and state officials and responses from the company, dating from 2005-2015,” the agency said in a statement. “Inspections at food manufacturing facilities are one of the tools the FDA uses to fulfill its mission of protecting public health. When outbreaks of foodborne illness occur, the FDA collaborates with state and other federal agencies to swiftly identify the cause of an outbreak, alert the public and remove from the marketplace food that may cause illness.”
Also Wednesday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it has concluded its investigation into the Blue Bell listeria outbreak. The CDC’s final report “various Blue Bell brand products were the source of this outbreak of listeriosis,” and confirmed that 10 cases of the illness were linked to Blue Bell products.
Blue Bell on Wednesday issued a news release saying the company has given the FDA “a detailed list of corrective actions that are underway” at its ice cream production facilities.
“The company is currently in the process of comprehensively reviewing all aspects of operations at the three facilities. Because listeria is ubiquitous in the environment, the company has adopted a broadly focused remediation plan aimed at confronting any possible sources of contamination,” Blue Bell said in the release.
The newly-released FDA records, obtained by the American-Statesman through an open records request, show that in at least a half dozen visits to the Blue Bell facility in Sylacauga, Ala., by Alabama state health inspectors dating to 2010, inspectors found issues similar to those found at Blue Bell’s plants in Broken Arrow, Okla., and in Brenham, where the company is based.
Production was halted at all Blue Bell facilities and an estimated 8 million gallons of ice cream, frozen yogurt, sherbet and frozen snacks were recalled and destroyed in April after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration linked Blue Bell products to 10 cases of listeria, including three deaths in Kansas.
Blue Bell has said it could take months to resume operations, but the company has not yet given a target date for that to happen. In May, the company said it was sending home 2,850 of its 4,000 workers, with about half of those let go in layoffs and the remainder put on partially paid furloughs.
In earlier FDA reports, dated as of an April inspection at the Alabama facility, inspectors listed seven observations at the plant, including construction that contributed to leaky condensate that could contaminate food, failure to conduct necessary testing, concerns over suitable outer garments worn by employees, and hygiene issues, such as a worker seen not washing his hands while handling product.
“The plant is not constructed in such a manner as to prevent condensate from contaminating food-contact surfaces,” a federal inspector noted from an April 10 visit.
Also, several Alabama state health inspection reports hinted at these issues years earlier.
This month, Blue Bell struck a deal with Alabama state health officials like ones it had brokered earlier with Texas and Oklahoma to step up testing and safety measures when production resumes. The agreement with the state of Alabama also says there will be a trial production period before products are shipped to consumers.
The company is working to retrain workers, as well as sanitize and upgrade its four plants, as it prepares to make a comeback.
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