I went to high school with one of Kruse's sons. I had a hard time a kid wondering how ice cream that taste so good be made by an aggie company.
2015 recalls[edit]
In 2015, the company issued a recall on an assortment of items produced at its creameries, due to the discovery of five cases of listeriosis in Kansas believed to be caused by products from the Broken Arrow, Oklahoma creamery.[25] Three of the five patients with listeria died, possibly due to the infection.[26] Subsequently, Blue Bell expanded the recall covering all of its products—a recall of over eight million gallons, to be disposed of into a sanitary landfill.[27][28] This was as a result of "an enhanced sampling program" launched by Blue Bell which produced "several positive tests for Listeria in different places and plants", including three further cases in Texas.[29] Although a spokeswoman had previously demurred on the subject of job losses,[30] Blue Bell laid off 37% of its workers in May 2015.[31] They also announced that another 1,400 would be temporarily furloughed until the clean-up is finished. The remaining employees, who are essential to the clean-up effort, also had wage reductions imposed on them.[32]
The recalls were so severe that they threatened to shut down the company; executives warned shareholders that they faced a "capital crisis."[33] In July 2015, Sid Bass, a prominent Texas investor, became a partner and investor with the company; Blue Bell secured a $125 million loan to continue operations.[34] Later that month, the Sylacauga, Alabama plant resumed production, creating test batches.[33] The FDA found that the company failed to follow standard practices to prevent contamination. Two years prior to the recalls, the company "repeatedly found listeria in its Broken Arrow facility."[33]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Bell_Creameries#History
