Blue Bell Creamery is being tied to a listeria outbreak. 5 people in Wichita were hospitalized, 3 of them wound up dying due to the foodborne illness. Blue Bell has stopped production and distribution of the products linked to the illness. They say it’s related to one piece of equipment in one production plant.
The FDA is warning consumers to stay away from and discard the following products from Blue Bell Creamery:
- Chocolate Chip Country Cookie
- Great Divide Bar
- Sour Pop Green Apple Bar
- Cotton Candy Bar
- Scoops
- Vanilla Stick Slices
- Almond Bar
- No Sugar Added Mooo Bar (regular Mooo Bars are not included)
What does something like this do to a brand? Take away all the waste ie throwing away already produced product and recalling already sold product or the lawsuits that will surely come from the deceased families. What are the long term losses in brand value and lost revenue?
I recently read a study about health inspection letter grades being posted in the restaurant window. They had found that an A could result in a 4-5% increase in sales and a C could result in a 1% decrease. I’d be interested in hearing any experiences in this area. Are these numbers accurate from your experience? Please share.
I have copied the Blue Bell article from the local ABC News affiliate below:
(WICHITA, Kan.) — An outbreak of listeria in five patients at a Kansas hospital is being connected to ice cream products from Blue Bell Creamery.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced on Friday the five people sickened were at Via Christi St Francis Hospital in Wichita, Kansas for other medical treatment when officials believe they ate the listeria contaminated ice cream.
Three of the patients who were sickened at the Wichita hospital later died.
The Texas-based company has since stopped production and distribution of several products linked to the deadly illness. A Blue Bell spokesperson said on Friday the outbreak is related to one piece of equipment in a production plant.
The ice cream contaminated was sold to convenience stores and private companies, such as hospitals.
The Kansas hospital was not aware of any listeria contamination in the Blue Bell Creameries ice cream products, and immediately removed all Blue Bell Creameries products from all Via Christi locations once the potential contamination was discovered, according to Maria Loving, Communications Coordinator for Via Christi Hospital St. Francis in Wichita.
Health officials are warning consumers who have purchased the following Blue Bell Creameries novelty items and have not consumed the items to discard them:
- Chocolate Chip Country Cookie
- Great Divide Bar
- Sour Pop Green Apple Bar
- Cotton Candy Bar
- Scoops
- Vanilla Stick Slices
- Almond Bar
- No Sugar Added Mooo Bar (regular Mooo Bars are not included)
Potentially contaminated items have been pulled from retail locations by Blue Bell Creameries and are no longer available for purchase.
At this time, officials say no other products from Blue Bell Creameries have been linked to this outbreak.