Kansas health officials say a foodborne illness linked to some Blue Bell ice cream products may have been a contributing factor in the deaths of three hospital patients but that listeriosis itself didn’t cause the deaths.
In all, five patients were sickened by listeria bacteria.
The Blue Bell Company issued a recall.
Health officials said the ice cream was made on a single production line at a Blue Bell plant in Texas and was probably exposed to the bacteria while it was still in liquid form.
Blue Bell has shut down that production line.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.