CDC alerts health care providers to expanded Blue Bell ice cream recall

Hospitals and long-term care facilities should not serve or sell any ice cream products made by Blue Bell Creameries, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said today, noting that the company has expanded its recall to include all products made at any of its facilities. CDC and the Food and Drug Administration are collaborating with state and local health officials to investigate an outbreak of listeriosis linked to certain Blue Bell products, some of which were distributed to institutions. “Information available to date suggests that ill people likely acquired L. monocytogenes infections from ice cream products they consumed while hospitalized for unrelated causes,” CDC said. As of April 20, a total of 10 cases were reported from four states: Arizona (1), Kansas (5), Oklahoma (1), and Texas (3). Illness onset dates ranged from January 2010 through January 2015. For more information, visit www.cdc.gov.