On May 14, Jeni’s made the exciting announcement that it was resuming ice cream production. This follows a massive recall caused by the discovery of listeria in its pints. The popular ice cream company closed its doors on April 23rd yet promises to have all of its shops up and running by Memorial Day Weekend.
Jeni’s has bounced back astoundingly and is reopening a mere 22 days later. By comparison, Blue Bell Ice Cream, dealing with its own listeria issues, won’t return products to stores for several months.
Jeni’s underwent a massive transformation during its brief shutdown. Despite finding listeria in only two pints, Jeni’s destroyed more than 535,000 pounds of its ice cream to purge the pathogen. After disposing of $2.5 million worth of ice cream, Jeni’s cleaned and reworked its production process. Eventually, the outbreak was sourced back to a contaminated machine in one of its Columbus kitchens, ending the ordeal.
While Jeni’s is reopening, it could take some time before the shops are running at full capacity. Much of the company’s inventory was destroyed while purging its massive ice cream supply. As a result, it could take a couple of weeks for Jeni’s to resume full productivity.
Jeni’s itself announced that it would take a few weeks for its shops to carry its full complement of flavors. But limitations aside, it’s good to see Jeni’s getting back to what it does best.
