U.S. Justice Department Launches an Investigation On Blue Bell’s Listeria Contamination

Blue Bell Creameries, an American food company that manufactures ice cream, is being probed by the U.S. Department of Justice over listeria contamination of its ice cream, reports the Wall Street Journal. The company’s contaminated ice cream killed three people and put seven others into the hospital.

Government lawyers are trying to find out what the company executives knew about listeria in its plants, the newspaper said, citing a source.

The company shut its operations in its largest plant in Brenham, Texas after the incident. Also, U.S. Food and Drug Administration conducted an investigation on the incident.

Blue Bell, however, resumed operations at its Texas plant in November.

The news about the investigation was first reported by CBS news. According to them, the investigation agency is looking at what Blue Bell's management knew about potentially deadly hazards in their plants.

Listeriosis is food poisoning caused by consuming foods contaminated with the Listeria monocytogenes bacterium. Children and healthy adults sometimes are infected with L. monocytogenes, but they rarely become seriously sick.

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Listeriosis affects mainly pregnant women, newborns, the elderly, and adults with impaired immune systems.

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Source-Medindia