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In a freezer at the Lufkin Police Department in Texas, there is a container of half a gallon of Blue Bell ice cream in a bag of evidence – Exhibit A from a grueling video that has a lot attracted attention.
In the videoA teenage girl is seen removing the ice cream container from a freezer, lifting the lid, licking the top of the ice cream, then closing the lid and putting the container back in place before moving away.
Shortly after posting the video on Instagram on June 28, social media burst into shock and disgust. Some have posted copied videos on Twitter and others have implored Blue Bell to use tamper-proof sheets under the lids of its ice cream sachets.
In an e-mail statement, Blue Bell said it had identified a Walmart in Lufkin, about 120 km northeast of Houston, "as the store where the malicious act of food manipulation took place".
"Our staff recognized the location in the video and we inspected the freezer," he continued.
The company, headquartered in Brenham, Texas, said in a statement that "based on the safety images, the location and the inspection of the carton, we think we have recovered the half -gallon modified ".
"As a precaution," said the company, "it has removed this tank and all the ice creams – Tin Roof – from the store. (This flavor includes a vanilla ice cream with a chocolate fondant and roasted peanuts dipped in dark chocolate.)
On Friday, Lufkin's police found the 17-year-old girl. they did not identify it publicly. Because of her age, the charges, if any, would be handled by the juvenile justice system, said a spokeswoman for the police department, Jessica Pebsworth.
"She probably lived in fear of what was going to happen to her," said Pebsworth.
Identifying the girl was all the more difficult for the police as many imitators quickly multiplied.
"In addition to six women with similar names and appearances, we had a pseudonym in a letter from the suspect," said the spokesperson. This screen name turned out to be a catfish, or someone claiming to be the woman who licked ice cream at Walmart.
The person behind the fake account claimed to have been sick earlier in the week and said the ice cream should now be called "Bell Flu". The person encouraged others to post videos showing unopened ice cream jars to cause an outbreak.
"Catfish did not even live in this country," said Pebsworth, adding that the person "was the one who provoked the most people by causing much more because of the statement" I was sick last week "."
Dr. Bruce E. Hirsch, an infectious disease specialist at Northwell Health in Manhasset, NY, said Saturday that ice cream licking is putting others at risk.
There are many viruses that can be transmitted by saliva, such as mononucleosis, he said.
The risk may have been partially reduced because of the low temperature and high sugar content of the ice cream, he said. Freezing could freeze and dilate the water in bacteria, destroying bacteria, and sugar could leach water from bacteria, he said.
In a statement Saturday, Blue Bell said, "Food safety is our top priority and we strive to provide a safe product and maintain the highest level of consumer confidence."
"This case is now in the hands of the Texas juvenile justice ministry to continue as it sees fit," he said.
In 2015, Blue Bell Creameries recalled its ice cream in the face of concerns about contamination with life-threatening listeria bacteria.
Later in the year, Ariana Grande was filmed licking a donut in a Southern California bakery and going out.
Ms. Grande is excused for the episode.
"Seeing a video of you behaving badly – and of which you have no idea was taken – is such a brutal awakening that you do not know what to do," she said. "I was so disgusted with myself."
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