The recalls were so severe that they threatened to shut down the company; executives warned shareholders that they faced a "capital crisis." On July 14, 2015, Sid Bass, a prominent Texas investor, became a partner and investor with the company; Blue Bell secured a $125 million loan to continue operations. Around the same time, Blue Bell's plant in Sylacauga, Alabama resumed production, creating test batches as part of a "test and hold" procedure in which ice cream is not packaged for sale until the batch tests negative for all strains of bacteria including the strain of listeria responsible for the aforementioned recalls.