Brenham residents rally behind Blue Bell after company's first recall

From the often toured "Little Creamery" to the ice cream-themed pool at the Aquatic Center, Brenham runs on Blue Bell, and community members can't say enough about their hometown ice cream maker as it deals with its first recall in 108 years.

"It's the backbone of the community," Washington County Chamber of Commerce Director Page Michel said of Brenham's largest private employer, which provides jobs to about 850 people.

"I am 100 percent confident in Blue Bell as a company of excellence, and I know they're doing everything in their power to rectify this quickly and effectively," she added.

Since mid-March, the Centers for Disease Control has linked Blue Bell ice cream to eight people -- five in Kansas and three in Texas -- who fell ill with listeriosis, a sometimes fatal infection that can cause miscarriages and stillbirths in pregnant women. Three of the patients in Kansas died.

Read more: http://www.theeagle.com/news/local/brenham-residents-rally-behind-blue-bell-after-company-s-first/article_9c326224-0672-5093-9846-6209f5bad203.html