Blue Bell Creameries have been ordered to pay over $17.25 million in criminal penalties, according to the Department of Justice.
A federal court in Texas sentenced the ice cream manufacturer to pay the penalties for shipments of contaminated products linked to the 2015 listeria outbreak.
Blue Bell pleaded guilty in May of this year to two misdemeanor counts of Distributing Adulterated Ice Cream Products. The sentence, imposed by US District Judge Robert Pitman in Austin, was consistent with the terms of their plea agreement. The penalty of $17.25 million is the largest-ever criminal penalty following a conviction in a food safety case.
In July of this year, former Blue Bell CEO Paul Kruse had all criminal charges against him dropped.
