Jeni's Ice Cream Finds Listeria For Second Time, Halts Production

Popular Ohio-based company Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams has confirmed the discovery of listeria in its facilities for the second time in three months, and has temporarily ceased production in order to begin decontamination.

The company had only recently resumed sales over Memorial Day weekend after recovering from the first incidence of listeria, which was identified in April.

Once again, the James Beard Award-winning ice creamery will investigate the source of the listeria and close its scoop shops in the meantime.

"We stopped production earlier this week and have been investigating where and how [listeria] may have re-entered the facility," CEO John Lowe announced. "We have a theory and are testing that theory. We don't yet have a timeline for the resumption of production."

However, Jeni's products currently on the market are safe to consume, as they were produced after the company's facilities were confirmed to be free of listeria.

"While we would most certainly prefer that Listeria never enter our facility, we do take solace in the fact that our protocols and testing have worked," Lowe said in a press release. "We found the listeria before it got into ice cream we served. This finding and our ceasing of production enables us the opportunity to prevent contamination and continue to ensure the safety of our customers."

The CDC only recently concluded its investigation of Blue Bell Creameries, whose initially undetected listeria outbreak resulted in the deaths of three people.