Blue Bell Creameries said Monday that it will pull all of its frozen dessert products off the market because they might be contaminated with a bacteria that can cause stomach illness.
So far, tainted ice cream made by Blue Bell has been linked to 10 illnesses, including three deaths in Kansas, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Tuesday.
New tests have revealed that half-gallons of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream produced on two dates in March contained Listeria monocytogenes, the Brenham, Texas-based company said in a statement.
“This means Blue Bell has now had several positive tests for listeria in different places and plants,” the company said. “At this point, we cannot say with certainty how listeria was introduced to our facilities, and so we have taken this unprecedented step.”
Blue Bell distributes frozen desserts to about half of the United States, The New York Times reported.
The listeria infections have been confirmed in four states: Arizona (1 case), Kansas (5 cases), Oklahoma (1 case), and Texas (3 cases), the CDC said Tuesday.