Blue Bell Says Listeria Source Likely Found at Oklahoma Plant

Blue Bell Creameries says it has likely identified the source of listeria contamination at its Oklahoma plant, but it may not be able to pinpoint a single source for the problem at its Texas plant.

The Texas-based company gave the information the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in response to federal inspections. The FDA publicly released the 35-page report in response to a Freedom of Information request by The Associated Press.

Blue Bell said ice cream products at its facility in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, might have been contaminated by equipment and sealed-ingredient buckets stored in a non-sanitary room. But a contamination source hasn’t been found at its plant in Brenham, Texas.

The FDA also confirmed a surface area at Blue Bell’s plant in Alabama tested positive for listeria.