Blue Bell Creameries began delivering ice cream to several markets Monday morning after being pulled from shelves in April amid listeria concerns.
The first delivery truck arrived at an H-E-B grocery store in Brenham at about 4 a.m. carrying enough Homemade Vanilla, Dutch Chocolate, Cookies and Cream and the Great Divide to fill up freezers several times.
"Over the past several months we have been working to make our facilities even better, and to ensure that everything we produce is safe, wholesome and of the highest quality for you to enjoy," said Ricky Dickson, vice president of sales and marketing for Blue Bell.
H-E-B officials said they stocked extra ice cream in case of high demand. They also will limit the amount each customer can buy to four containers.
Because Blue Bell is operating out of only one facility, their ice cream will re-enter parts of 15 states in five phases. Brenham, Houston and Austin stores will receive ice cream initially, with the majority of Texas receiving the product later.
No other dates have been determined for when each expansion will take place.
Blue Bell officials notified the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry that they intend to resume production at their Broken Arrow factory soon.
“Texans can rejoice today as Blue Bell ice cream makes its long-awaited comeback in freezer aisles across the state,” said Governor Greg Abbott in a statment. “Generations of families have enjoyed Blue Bell as a traditional Texas treat, and their production facilities have played an integral economic role in local communities across the Lone Star State. On behalf of all Texans, I want to welcome Blue Bell back and wish them luck as they continue to ramp up production.”
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NBC 5's Ellen Bryan and Holley Ford contributed to this report.
