NEWS FROM THE LITTLE CREAMERY

Blue Bell Announces Voluntary Agreements with Texas and Oklahoma State
Regulatory Agencies as Part of Company Efforts to Ensure the
Production of Safe Ice Cream
Brenham, TX – Blue Bell Creameries, the Texas Department of State Health Services and the Oklahoma
Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry have entered into voluntary agreements
outlining a series of steps and actions Blue Bell will take as part of its efforts to bring Blue Bell Ice
Cream products back to market.
The voluntary agreements, signed today, detail certain actions Blue Bell will take to help give the public
confidence that when Blue Bell products return to market, they are safe. The actions include rigorous
facility cleaning and sanitizing, revised testing protocols, revised production policies and procedures
designed to prevent future contamination, and upgraded employee training initiatives. Once the
company is ready to resume production, the voluntary agreements also call for a trial production period
before ice cream is distributed to consumers.
“We are committed to meeting the high standards and expectations of our customers and our
regulatory agencies,” said Blue Bell CEO and President Paul Kruse. “State and federal regulatory agencies
play an important role in food safety, and we hope that it will be reassuring to our customers that we
are working cooperatively with the states of Texas and Oklahoma in taking the necessary steps to bring
Blue Bell Ice Cream back to the market.”
Kruse also noted that Blue Bell will continue to work cooperatively and transparently with the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration, and has entered into discussions with the State of Alabama Department of
Public Health regarding a similar voluntary agreement. Discussions on these voluntary agreements
began with the State of Texas and then extended to Oklahoma.
The agreements signed today include provisions specific to addressing Listeria, including:
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Conducting root cause analyses to identify its potential or actual sources;
Retaining an independent microbiology expert to establish and review controls to prevent the
future introduction of Listeria;
Notifying the Texas and Oklahoma state agencies promptly of any presumptive positive test
result for Listeria monocytogenes found in ingredients or finished product samples, and
providing the state agencies full access to all testing;
Ensuring that the company’s Pathogen Monitoring Program (PMP) for Listeria in the plant
environment outlines how the company will respond to presumptive positive tests for Listeria
species; and,
Instituting a “test and hold” program to assure that products are safe before they are shipped or
sold.

“These detailed agreements will help guide us back to producing the safe, high-quality products that
Blue Bell is known for,” Kruse said. “We appreciate the tremendous public support we have received,

 and we look forward to working with our regulatory agencies and returning to making ice cream as soon
as possible.”
The Texas news release and agreement can be found here:
http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/news/releases/20150514.aspx
The Oklahoma agreement can be obtained from: Blayne.arthur@ag.ok.gov
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