Blue Bell ice cream returning to stores in Richmond and elsewhere in Virginia beginning this week

BY GREGORY J. GILLIGAN Richmond Times-Dispatch 2 hrs ago

After a three-year hiatus, Blue Bell ice cream returns to store shelves in much of Virginia beginning Monday March 25. ... The iconic Texas ice cream brand hasn't been available in Virginia since 2015 after the company halted sales here and across the U.S. because of listeria contamination.
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Blue Bell Creameries said its ice cream will be available in supermarkets and other stores beginning March 25 in the Richmond region, Hampton Roads, Fredericksburg, Charlottesville, Williamsburg and other parts of Virginia. ... The company completed a 14,000-square-foot distribution center in the Northlake Business Park off the Lewistown Road exit of Interstate 95 in Hanover County. A second center in Virginia - in Suffolk - is slated to open in April.
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Blue Bell makes its ice cream at only three production plants — in its hometown of Brenham, Texas, and in Oklahoma and Alabama - and sends those products to its distribution centers.

In 2015, the company halted sales because of listeria contamination and voluntarily recalled its products when they were linked to 10 listeria cases in four states, including three deaths in Kansas.

ggilligan@timesdispatch.com

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