Blue Bell ice cream has no plans to return to Kansas

Blue Bell ice cream is back in some areas, but not in Kansas.

Texas-based Blue Bell Creameries resumed selling its products at select locations Monday, according to the company, though the treats will remain absent from stores in Kansas.

Earlier this year, the retailer halted sales due to listeria contamination, an outbreak that was linked to nearly a dozen illnesses, including three deaths in Kansas. Blue Bell ice cream is now available at stores in the Houston and Austin markets in Texas and in the company’s hometown of Brenham. The company’s products are also available now in parts of Alabama, according to a news release.

During a phone interview, Blue Bell spokesman Joe Robertson said Monday that the rollout is part of a five-phase plan to bring Blue Bell products back to shelves following the health scare. Robertson added, however, that Kansas remains a “suspended” market.

“We’re not saying we wouldn’t ever come back to Kansas, but there are no plans as of now,” Robertson said. “We still hope to return (to Kansas) someday. We still own properties in Kansas.”

Citing “limited distribution and product” availability, Robertson said the company currently plans to return to 15 of the 23 states that it had been in before the outbreak, though he added that could change.

The company voluntarily recalled its products in April after they were linked to 10 listeria cases in four states, including three deaths that were linked to contaminated products at a Wichita hospital. The hospital stopped serving Blue Bell products on March 9, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

KDHE spokeswoman Sara Belfry reiterated Monday that listeria was only “part of the cause” of death of the three individuals earlier this year. Belfry added that there were five listeria illnesses documented in Sedgwick County due to the outbreak.

“Listeria was listed as a contributing factor on the individuals’ death certificates,” Belfry said. “Officially, listeria was associated with, but not a direct cause of those three deaths.”

Blue Bell spokeswoman Jenny Van Dorf said “approximately” 40 jobs, a combination of full and part time, were lost at the company’s Kansas City distribution center when it ceased operations following the outbreak.

A grocery store in the Houston area celebrated the return of the treats by holding a Blue Bell ice cream-eating contest Monday, according to an Associated Press report. Production plants in Texas, Oklahoma and Alabama underwent an extensive cleaning and decontamination, under the regulatory oversight of health officials.

The Blue Bell plant in Sylacauga, Alabama, began producing ice cream in July. The company on Aug. 17 announced plans to resume distribution to select markets, with homemade vanilla ice cream the first flavor returning to public consumption. Listeria bacteria can cause serious illness, especially in older adults, pregnant women and those with weakened immune systems.

This story was originally published August 31, 2015 at 11:47 AM with the headline "Blue Bell ice cream has no plans to return to Kansas."