Blue Bell expands product recall

Blue Bell Creameries of Brenham is expanding a product recall after bacteria in some frozen products has been linked to three deaths in Kansas.

On Monday, the creamery announced a recall of 3-ounce containers of strawberry, vanilla and chocolate ice cream with tab lids that are sold to specific institutions like hospitals and cafeterias. That's in addition to 10 frozen snacks recalled earlier this month.

"The products that we've recalled, they actually are for institutional sales," said Blue Bell spokeswoman Jenny Van Dorf. "So they're not available in the grocery store."

RELATED: Blue Bell ice cream linked to deadly outbreak

Van Dorf said the recalled products were sold to hospitals, schools, nursing homes and other institutions across Blue Bell's 23-state distribution territory, including Houston.

Listeria bacteria

However, she said the company does not disclose distributors, including any Houston-area school districts that may or may not have served the recalled products.

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration website, officials found listeria bacteria on March 22 in a three-ounce cup of chocolate ice cream produced in Broken Arrow, Okla. and served in a hospital in Wichita, Kansas.

3 die from 2013 to 2015

The recall began when five patients at Via Christi St. Francis hospital in Wichita became ill with listeriosis while hospitalized at some point from December 2013 to January 2015. Officials determined at least four drank milkshakes that contained Blue Bell ice cream. Three of the patients later died.

Sara Belfry, spokeswoman for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, said inspectors discovered the contaminated 3-ounce cups after testing other Blue Bell products at the hospital.

Kansas health officials are continuing with testing to determine whether any other cases of infection are associated with the strand of bacteria detected in the Blue Bell products, she said.

The product contamination originally was detected on Feb. 12 during routine sampling by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control at a distribution center in that state. Health officials there found strains of listeria in single-serving Chocolate Chip Country Cookie Sandwich and the Great Divide Bar ice cream products.

The two batches of recalled products were produced at separate facilities.

The infection is rare

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the listeria bacteria can cause a serious infection that can sometimes result in death. It is rare, but most commonly ingested through contaminated foods, including deli meats and unpasteurized dairy products.

Vandorf said Blue Bell was working with the FDA to determine the source of the contamination.

On March 13, Blue Bell announced a recall of 10 other treats sold in a number of states that had been linked to the listeria outbreak in Kansas.

Those products included:

• Chocolate Chip Country Cookie (5.25 FL OZ) - UPC 71899-21169

• Great Divide Bar (2.75 FL OZ) - UPC 71899-21178

• Sour Pop Green Apple Bar (2.5 FL OZ) - UPC 71899-21208

• Cotton Candy Bar (2.5 FL OZ) - UPC 71899-21207

• SCOOPS (4.0 FL OZ) - UPC 71899-00701

• Vanilla Stick Slices (4.0 FL OZ) - No UPC – SKU #964

• Almond Bar (2.75 FL OZ) - UPC 71899-21138

• 6 pk Cotton Candy Bars (6 - 2.5 FL OZ) - UPC 71899-62257

• 6 pk Sour Pop Green Apple Bars (6 - 2.5 FL OZ) - UPC 71899-62258

• 12 pk NSA Mooo Bars (12 - 2.0 FL OZ) - UPC 71899-62305