In the latest development of the ice cream licker saga, Texas stores are now placing guards in their freezer departments to protect the frozen delicacy.
A Corpus Christi Walmart employee named Ruben can be seen armed with a water gun to keep the lickers at bay.
“We’re guarding our Blue Bell ice cream for your weekend party, what a great way to cool down in the Hot Texas heat!” the store wrote in a now-deleted Facebook post.
https://twitter.com/chriscford/status/1147307536351150081
A Texas police department posted a photo of Corporal Clark and Officer Bryans also protecting their local ice cream aisle.
“The only Blue Bell Ice Cream being licked here in Keller this holiday weekend will be the kind you’ve already purchased,” the department wrote on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/kellerpublicsafety/photos/a.1066766866683372/2840119299348111/?type=3
This comes after a girl opened a Blue Bell tub of ice cream, licked its contents, and then put it back on the store shelf for another unaware customer to purchase. The incident can be seen in a now-viral video.
Hello! 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 the appropriate authorities. For more information, please click here: https://t.co/Uampapt2l8
— Blue Bell Ice Cream (@ILoveBlueBell) July 1, 2019
The “guards” seem to be poking fun at the situation, but the incident took a far more serious turn when it was announced that the culprit could be facing two to 20 years in prison on a consumer product tampering felony charge.
Blue Bell Creameries is also not playing around. The company found the exact, compromised carton of Tin Roof-flavored ice cream through analysis of the video and removed all the ice cream matching that size and flavor from the location in question “out of an abundance of caution.”
“Our staff recognized the location in the video, and we inspected the freezer case. We found a Tin Roof half gallon that appears to have been compromised,” the company wrote in a statement.
The story then took another turn when the girl was identified as a 17-year-old minor from San Antonio. She was visiting her boyfriend’s family in Lufkin, Texas, where the incident occurred.
“We do not intend to pursue charges against her as an ‘adult’ and therefore what happens from here is at the discretion of the juvenile justice system,” the Lufkin Police Department wrote on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/lufkinpoliceandfire/photos/a.1031206156891097/2568746619803702/?type=3&theater
It’s unclear what charges she now faces, but the girl’s boyfriend, who is an adult and was with her at the time, may be facing charges of his own.
“Food safety is our top priority,” Blue Bell Creameries wrote. “We are always looking for ways to improve, including looking at methods within our manufacturing process to add additional protection to the carton. This case is now in the hands of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department to pursue however it deems appropriate.”
READ MORE:
- People are licking ice cream and then putting it back on the shelf for this viral challenge
- Police may charge the Blue Bell ice cream licker with a felony
- Businessweek gets grilled over controversial hamburger tweet
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