I would imagine that if you're a fan of ice cream that you were overjoyed to hear that Blue Bell was returning to your favorite grocery store's freezers this week.

That was good news. Many of the people I talked with felt that same sense of joy that was tempered with a little trepidation. It's back, but did they really fix the problem that caused the popular treat to be pulled from the shelves to begin with?

If you're not familiar with the Blue Bell story the product was pulled because of an outbreak of listeria. It was believed this listeria outbreak caused three deaths. The people at Blue Bell did the right thing and shut down the production facilities and cleaned them up.

Companies will now have to prepare detailed plans that lay out how they handle food, how they process it, how they clean their facilities, how they keep food at the right temperatures, among many other safety measures.

That's according to Dr. Fred Lopez. Dr. Lopez is a professor with LSU Health New Orleans Infectious Diseases. He went on to tell the Louisiana Radio Network that it is probably safer to enjoy Blue Bell ice cream now than it has ever been.

They've had all of their equipment deep cleaned and their processes reviewed.  They're working with departments of public health and microbiology experts in efforts to minimize the chance of this ever happening.

He said that the company has created new policies and procedures to insure that their product is better than it has ever been, at least from a safety stand point.

They have, currently, a test and hold procedure where their production runs are tested and held, until the results are negative, before they send out the ice cream.

So if you have a Nervous Nelly in your family or a resident germaphobe in your circle of friends you can tell them to relax, chill out, and enjoy a bit of Blue Bell today. After all when it comes to ice cream that which does not kill you, makes you smile.

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