Blue Bell to resume distributing ice cream to select markets

Kim Johnson Flodin / AP

This photo shows a container of Blue Bell ice cream Friday, March 13, 2015, in Dallas.

Associated Press

Monday, Aug. 17, 2015 | 1:19 p.m.

BRENHAM, Texas — Blue Bell Creameries will resume distributing ice cream to select markets in Texas and Alabama this month after halting sales and production following listeria contamination.

The Brenham, Texas-based company said Monday that it plans to re-enter parts of 15 states in five phases. The first phase, which starts Aug. 31, will include the Brenham, Houston and Austin areas in Texas and the Birmingham and Montgomery areas in Alabama.

Blue Bell in April voluntarily recalled all products after its treats were linked to 10 listeria illnesses in four states, including three deaths in Kansas.

The Blue Bell production facility in Sylacauga, Alabama, began producing ice cream in July. Production facilities in Brenham, Alabama, and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, still are undergoing upgrades.

Listeria is a bacteria that can cause serious illness.