Blue Bell ice cream has been off the shelves for some months now due to an outbreak of listeriosis that hospitalized ten people and killed three. Now there’s hope for desperate Blue Bell fans: the company’s production facility in Alabama, which didn’t cause any known illnesses, has been making test batches of ice cream and will now be allowed to distribute them.

The company’s factory in Sylacauga, AL began its test run on July 20 after months of being shut down after the massive recall that began in March. None of the confirmed cases in the outbreak were linked to the Sylacauga plant, though a man in Florida claims that he contracted meningitis after eating ice cream manufactured in that facility two years ago.

There’s no need to turn to illicit markets or hoard potentially-contaminated ice cream anymore: the products will be back on shelves soon. What we can’t tell you is how soon, because the company hasn’t announced that yet. What we do know is that the state of Alabama tested the new batches and found no Listeria or other dangerous pathogens.

Blue Bell gets OK to resume ice cream production in Sylacauga [AL.com]

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