HOUSTON – KPRC 2 spoke with Texas Children's Hospital and Memorial Hermann Wednesday about the Blue Bell ice cream cups that are part of an expanded recall. So far they are the only hospitals to confirm that the ice cream cups were distributed in their hospitals.
Blue Bell has now had two recalls. The first was concerning only their individually packaged products.
KPRC 2 News asked TCH if they were serving those cups before the recall to which they told us, "It was and we have pulled all of them. No one has been sick as a result but we are still monitoring closely."
The ice cream was recalled because tests showed it had the potential to be contaminated with Listeria, which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.
Earlier this month, the deaths of three patients in a Kansas hospital were linked to the contaminated ice cream.
Blue Bell said the latest recall did not involve products sold to the general public, just institutions like schools and hospitals.
Texas Children's Hospital released the following statement, "On Monday, March 23, Texas Children's Hospital was alerted by Blue Bell about a recall of their 3 oz. institutional/food service cups of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry ice cream. We took the immediate action of removing all of these products from the inpatient and outpatient areas until further notice. In an abundance of caution we also removed all milk-based Blue Bell ice-cream products from patient areas. We are not aware if any of the products were contaminated but have been monitoring our pathology reports closely for listeria and there are no reports at this time. We will continue monitoring this situation closely. At Texas Children's Hospital, the care and safety of our patients is our top priority and we continually strive to achieve this vital mission."
TCH stressed that many hospitals in the Houston area were affected by the recall.
Memorial Hermann says they have also removed the potentially affected products after receiving the recall notice on monday. they have not been able to tell me whether or not patients were served the ice cream.
Some of the symptoms include fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea. Pregnant women are at risk, too, because the Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and still births.
One incident was reported March 22 by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment where a chocolate flavored institutional/food service cup tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes. The cup was recovered from a hospital in Wichita, Kansas, and was produced April 15, 2014, in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.
The ice cream cups listed below were distributed in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Wyoming via food service accounts:
- Ice Cream Cup Chocolate (3 FL OZ) No UPC - SKU #453
- Ice Cream Cup Strawberry (3 FL OZ) No UPC - SKU #452
- Ice Cream Cup Vanilla (3 FL OZ) No UPC – SKU #451
The recall does not affect Blue Bell's half gallons, pints, quarts, 3 gallons or other 3 oz. cups.
Consumers who bought these items are urged to return them to the store for a full refund. For more information consumers with questions may call 979-836-7977.