KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A foodborne illness linked to some Blue Bell ice cream products might have been a contributing factor in the deaths of three hospital patients in Kansas, health officials said Saturday.

Officials have not released the names of the five patients at Via Christi St. Francis hospital in Wichita, Kansas, who developed listeriosis after eating products from one production line at the Blue Bell creamery in Brenham, Texas.

But the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the five individuals were older adults and three of them are women.

The five patients became ill with listeriosis during their hospitalizations for unrelated causes between December 2013 and January 2015. According to the CDC, four of the five patients had eaten while hospitalized milkshakes made with Blue Bell ice cream product called “Scoops” in the month before the infection.

The FDA says listeria bacteria were found in samples of Scoops, as well as Blue Bell Chocolate Chip Country Cookies, Great Divide Bars, Sour Pop Green Apple Bars, Cotton Candy Bars, Vanilla Stick Slices, Almond Bars and No Sugar Added Moo Bars.

A Blue Bell spokeswoman said the company has recovered all recalled products from all 23 states where they were sold.

Cincinnati-based supermarket chain Kroger removed recalled Blue Bell products from 860 of its 2,625 stores and the company is alerting customers through its recall notification system, spokesman Keith Dailey said.

The Texas Department of State Health Services said no enforcement action had ever been taken against the facility in Brenham, which it deemed compliant with food-safety laws.

Listeriosis primarily affects pregnant women and their newborns, older adults and people with weakened immune systems.

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