FDA says Blue Bell Creameries knew about listeria contamination in 2013

A Food and Drug Administration report released Thursday revealed that Blue Bell Creameries knew surfaces in its ice cream plant in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, tested positive for listeria as far back as 2013.

Earlier this year, the company had to recall all of its products after they were linked to a listeria outbreak that killed three people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The FDA inspection report says that surfaces, including the floor in front of a freezer and a drain behind a flavor tank, tested positive for listeria five times in 2013, 10 times in 2014, and once in January 2015. "Specifically you failed to demonstrate your cleaning and sanitizing program is effective in controlling recurring microbiological contaminants," the report said.

The report also stated that Blue Bell said it was testing for listeria and other microbials to see if their cleaning and sanitation methods were working, but even after seeing positive listeria results, they did not change what they were doing. A Blue Bell spokesperson told ABC News the company did know about "the presence of listeria on non-food surfaces," and that "we thought our cleaning process took care of any problems, but in hindsight, it was not adequate." Food safety attorney Bill Marler, who is representing two people who tested positive for listeria after eating Blue Bell products, said the report was one of the worst he has seen over the course of his career. "How Blue Bell could run a plant with years of positive listeria test results is shameful," he said.

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