FORT WORTH (KRLD/CBSDFW.COM) – After a nearly four month absence from store shelves, Blue Bell ice cream could make a comeback before summer’s end.

KRLD has confirmed the company will begin trial runs in July at its Alabama plant on the week of July 20, as part of its plan to get the ice cream back in grocer’s freezers.

Based on the results of the test runs, a decision will be made about resuming production and getting the ice cream back in stores, but there’s no timeline on when that might happen.

Blue Bell entered into an agreement with the Alabama State Health Department on June 1, indicating that it would alert the department when it was ready to resume production.  The voluntary agreement calls for a trial production period before ice cream is distributed to consumers.

Blue Bell entered into similar agreements with the state health departments in Texas and Oklahoma, with the trial production period lasting at least two weeks in Texas.  However, according to the Texas Department of Health, Blue Bell has not reported any plans to produce ice cream at the two Texas plants.

Blue Bell voluntarily recalled all of its products in March, after some of its ice cream was found to be contaminated with listeria. Three people who ate the contaminated ice cream died and several others were sickened.(©2015 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)