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Viral video shows woman licking Blue Bell ice cream, putting it back in store freezer

Gary Dinges gdinges@gatehousemedia.com
A viral video shows a woman licking a tub of Blue Bell ice cream and then putting it back in a store freezer. [TWITTER]

Blue Bell has responded to a viral video that shows a woman opening a half-gallon of Tin Roof ice cream, licking the contents, then placing the tub back in a store freezer.

The video started making the rounds over the weekend, prompting the Texas-based creamery to issue a written statement Monday.

It's not clear where the video was shot. The woman's identity is also unknown.

On Twitter, many people called for Blue Bell to begin placing a plastic seal underneath the lid to prevent similar tampering in the future. Some other brands already do that.

Here is Blue Bell's written statement in its entirety: "We want to thank our consumers for alerting us to the recent food tampering incident. We take this issue very seriously and are currently working with law enforcement, retail partners and social media platforms. This type of incident will not be tolerated.

"Food safety is a top priority, and we work hard to provide a safe product and maintain the highest level of confidence from our consumers.

"During production, our half gallons are flipped upside down and sent to a hardening room where the ice cream freezes to the lid creating a natural seal. The lids are frozen tightly to the carton. Any attempt at opening the product should be noticeable.

"We will continue to monitor this situation.”

Blue Bell products are distributed in all or part of 22 states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Wyoming.