Texas ice cream maker Blue Bell plans to reopen three Arizona distribution facilities as it continues its recovery from a high-profile 2015 listeria outbreak.
The company announced Wednesday that it would begin shipping ice cream throughout Arizona beginning next March and restore distribution operations in Phoenix, Apache Junction and Tucson.
Blue Bell indicated it is already hiring for positions in those three facilities and will continue to do so over the next three months. The ice cream will be available at most major supermarkets and drug stores, although specific locations were not announced.
“It has always been our goal to return to Arizona, and we believe that we are in a great position to expand our sales territory next year,” vice president of sales and marketing Ricky Dickson said in a statement.
Blue Bell recalled all ice cream products in April 2015 in the wake of positive tests for listeria in samples of its ice cream. The recalled ice cream was ultimately blamed for 10 illnesses in four states, including three deaths in Kansas.
The company shut down facilities in Texas, Oklahoma and Alabama as well as Arizona and laid off about half its workforce in the wake of the recall.
Production resumed later in the year following changes to its sanitation and training practices, and the company's ice cream slowly returned to select markets in recent months.
Blue Bell expands to further expand its distribution footprint next year.
“Later this month we will announce the next market entry," Dickson said.