Police aren’t resting until they catch the person who opened a carton of ice cream at a Texas Walmart, licked the creamy goodness and put it back in the freezer.
Lufkin Police say they are searching for awoman who gleefully contaminated a half-gallon of Blue Bell Tin Roof ice cream — which the company describes as “a vanilla ice cream with a rich chocolate fudge swirl and roasted peanuts dipped in dark chocolate” — last week in a Twitter video that has garnered more than 11 million views.
Police say the woman faces a charge of second-degree felony tampering with a consumer product, which carries two to 20 years behind bars and a possible fine of up to $10,000.
Blue Bell called the unsettling footage a “malicious act” in a statement on its website.
The ice cream maker said it inspected the freezer case that contained the licked ice cream, found the problematic tub and removed all Tin Roof half gallons from the Lufkin Walmart.
“The safety of our ice cream is our highest priority, and we work hard to maintain the highest level of confidence of our customers. Food tampering is not a joke, and we will not tolerate tampering with our products,” Blue Bell said.
A Walmart in Corpus Christi isn’t taking any chances with its own ice cream stock.
To protect its frozen goods, the store said, it stationed an “armed” guard in front of its precious Blue Bell freezer and posted a photo Wednesday of an employee holding a squirt gun; the photo was removed about 18 hours later.
“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 post said.
