Blue Bell Ice Cream has received the green light from Alabama health officials and has been cleared for take-off to begin production and sales of what Blue Bell refers to as “the best ice cream in the country.” The Alabama Department of Public Health place “no restrictions” on the company for its plant located in Sylacauga, Alabama.
The approval from the Alabama officials comes after test runs were approved. Breitbart Texas’s Rob Milford reported on July 25, that the company had begun test production runs and hoped to get back into full production at that facility soon. Blue Bell voluntarily pulled its entire product line from store shelves earlier this year after the listeria bacteria was found in isolated products produced in Oklahoma and Texas. The move caused the company to lay off more than 2,500 employees and destroy more than five million gallons of ice cream.
Alabama’s health department ran dozens of product tests, said Jim McVay, director of health promotion and chronic disease, according to a Dallas Morning News (DMN) article.
“All testing, done by the health department and by the company has been negative, meaning there is no contamination on any products,” he told the DMN. “The testing is ongoing and they are to notify us if they come up with a positive test for anything.”
McVay was very clear they have no restrictions on the ice cream producer. “We do not have any restrictions on them, because again, we have no results that have shown that they could not sell the product,” he said. “We are not stopping production or sales.”
Responding to an inquiry from Breitbart Texas, Blue Bell spokesperson Henny Van Dorf said, “We are producing ice cream, and the ice cream we are producing is being added to our inventory. At this time, we have not finalized our distribution plan and we do not have a date when our products will return to market.”
The DMN quoted the Wall Street Journal as saying Blue Bell called the tests successful. The WSJ added “Blue Bell was … producing ice cream there for sale.”
In July, Breitbart Texas’s Lana Shadwick reported the ice cream manufacture, headquartered in Brenham, Texas, announced Fort Worth billionaire Sid Bass had made a “significant investment” in the company.
“We are excited to be a part of the Blue Bell brand and family” Bass said at the time. “Blue Bell is the quality leader in the ice cream industry. We believe quality is the principle attribute that ensures the success, growth and longevity of a business.”
In the mean time, the current heatwave in Texas has taste buds watering across the Lone Star State and other places where Blue Bell Ice Cream is sold.
This article has been updated with additional information.
Bob Price is a senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas and a member of the original Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.