Dive Brief:
- FDA has released four more inspection reports for Blue Bell from earlier years. The inspectors did not report listeria contamination, but they did note other health concerns and breaches in food safety protocol.
- Potential health issues stemmed from an employee who repeatedly handled ingredients and touched food product surfaces after scratching his head or touching his hat and waistband. In another instance, water from a steel pipe dripped onto an ice cream sandwich and into an empty carton before they were packaged.
- In other news, Blue Bell is being sued by a former Houston resident who allegedly contracted listeria-related meningitis after consuming Blue Bell ice cream both at home and at work.
Dive Insight:
These reports do not bode well for Blue Bell's recovery from its entire product recall and creameries shutdown. The reports follow three other FDA reports from earlier this month that also slammed the company with a slew of concerns about food safety protocols at its facilities.
Last week, Blue Bell announced that the company would lay off about 37% of its workforce. As for the lawsuit, it could be one of many to come out against Blue Bell in wake of the food safety issues reported.