Blue Bell, on Friday announced a recall following death of three people, who had developed a food-borne illness linked to the ice cream products of the company. The recall was the first in the Texas-based company's 108-year history.

The company has said that all the products produced on the machine with the potential listeria problem were identified and were removed from the stores and storage.

In a statement, the US Food and Drug Administration has said that five adults in Kansas have developed listeriosis after eating the products that were produced at the Blue Bell creamery in Brenham, Texas.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, all five of them, after getting ill with the food-borne illness, went under treatment for unrelated health issues at Via Christi St. Francis hospital in Wichita, Kansas.

In the hospital, the CDC said that four of the patients had consumed milkshakes made with "Scoops", a Blue Bell ice cream product. The information was only readily available for 4 of the 5 people.

The FDA has revealed that Listeria bacteria was found in samples of the products, including Blue Bell Chocolate Chip Country Cookies, Great Divide Bars, Sour Pop Green Apple Bars, Cotton Candy Bars, Scoops, Vanilla Stick Slices, Almond Bars and No Sugar Added Moo Bars.

Blue Bell has cleared that the recall did not include "half gallons, quarts, pints, cups, three gallon ice cream or the majority of take-home frozen snack novelties".

Paul Kruse, CEO of the Brenham creamery, said, "The only time it can be contaminated is at the time of production". He added that the contamination has been traced to a device that extrudes the ice product into forms and on to cookies, and that device stays off line.

He explained that all products and solutions now available on institution cabinets are risk-free.