HOUSTON – Texas grocery giant H-E-B announced on Saturday that they are pulling all Blue Bell products off the shelf, and several other grocery chains are trying to weed out products made at one specific plant, due to a listeria scare.
So, can the ice cream giant recover from this?
"It is going to take a hit. The question is how big and how long," said Betsy Gelb, a marketing professor at the C.T. Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston.
Gelb told KPRC 2 that the good news is that the Blue Bell ice cream brand has a loyal following, especially in Texas.
But recent recalls could be enough to drive others away for good.
Randalls, Kroger, and Walmart recalled Blue Bell products from a Blue Bell manufacturing plant in Oklahoma that was temporarily shut down the day before for inspection.
The company discovered listeria contamination at that location.
"Another group is going to need to be dragged back by giant posters about look at all the safety inspections we've gotten out of Oklahoma," said Gelb.
She said the silver lining for the company may be for Blue Bell to turn the inspection process into a marketing strategy, to show it to their customers.
"A lot of people in white coats walking around looking scientific and careful, then those same people eating the ice cream," she said.
If you have any questions about whether the Blue Bell ice cream you bought is from the Oklahoma plant being inspected, simply take it back to the store where it was purchased and return it for a refund.
Blue Bell brand products made at the Oklahoma facility can be identified by checking for letters "O," "P," "Q," "R," "S," and "T" after the date on the bottom of the product package.
Here is an example from the CDC: If a Blue Bell product is labeled "021217S," it was produced at the Oklahoma facility because the letter "S" follows the "code date."