March U.S. export volume was up 2% to more than 190,000 metric tons. That’s the highest level since May 2018. The value of the exports was 592 million, up 10% from a year ago. On a total milk solids basis, exports represented just over 15% of U.S. milk production.
Blue Bell Pleads Guilty
You may remember a listeria outbreak involving Blue Bell ice cream that left three people dead.
Now, Blue Bell Creameries has agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanors. It will also pay 19.3 million dollars in fines. Contaminated ice cream was linked to 10 listeria cases in four states, with the three deaths happening in Kansas.
Federal prosecutors say the fines are the second largest ever paid in a food-safety case.