Dive Brief:
- Blue Bell continues to promote the efficacy of its "robust" safety testing program, which the company began after a full product recall and production shutdown due to listeria contamination last year, the Associated Press reported.
- The company's support of its safety program appears comes in the wake of a more recent recall of select products also linked to listeria contamination. This time, Blue Bell and its cookie dough supplier have tangled over which facility was the source of the contamination.
- Experts still don't foresee a significant hit to Blue Bell's consumer base, despite the subsequent recall.
Dive Insight:
Blue Bell's steadfast dedication to a safety program—which may have allowed another listeria contamination to occur—could seem unusual. But Blue Bell credits that very safety program as the reason why it discovered the potential contamination of the cookie dough ingredient it used from third-party supplier Aspen Hills.
Blue Bell has accused Aspen Hills of being the source of the contamination, though Aspen Hills claims it has negative test results for listeria from its own lab. Aspen Hills then suggested that the cookie dough became contaminated after reaching Blue Bell's facility, which is also possible.
That distinction is critical if Blue Bell continues to stand by its safety testing program. If the contamination happened elsewhere and Blue Bell caught it before the product sickened consumers, the company is right to support its own efforts. And that may be the case, considering last week Aspen Hills ultimately recalled a number of cookie dough products it sells to other manufacturers after discovering glitches in its own safety practices. That prompted Blue Bell to expand its recall.
If Aspen Hills is correct and Blue Bell was the source of the contamination, the ice cream manufacturer could have a major safety problem. Transparency and confidence in safety protocols are crucial during the recall process. But if Blue Bell is standing behind a faulty safety testing program, the company could be facing more recalls and more intensified scrutiny in the future.
It also speaks volumes to Blue Bell's brand loyalty that despite two recalls in subsequent years, experts don't believe Blue Bell will lose many customers. If Blue Bell survives yet another recall with its brand intact and its safety program proven, the company could serve as an example to ice cream makers and other producers as to how to bounce back from recall woes.