BRENHAM, TEXAS — An investment by a prominent Texas businessman will ensure the return of Blue Bell ice cream to the market after listeria contamination prompted a shutdown in manufacturing, the company said Tuesday.
Billionaire businessman Sid Bass, pictured at left, an investor and philanthropist whose father and uncle built an oil fortune, has become a partner in Brenham-based Blue Bell Creameries, CEO and president Paul Kruse said in a statement.
The privately held company stopped production after issuing a national recall in April because of concerns about listeria. Its ice cream was linked to 10 listeria illnesses in four states, including three deaths in Kansas.
A Food and Drug Administration investigation found that Blue Bell knew it had listeria in one of its plants for almost two years before the recall.
No date has been given for when Blue Bell products could be back in stores. Blue Bell last week announced plans to test production runs at its Alabama plant.
