A Michigan-based company issued a recall of 25 brands of Brie and Camembert cheese after five people were hospitalized with a strain of the virus. listeriahealth officials announced.
On a September 30 withdrawal noticethe US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the products were made by Old Europe Cheese Inc. and sold at popular retailers in the United States and Mexico.
The cheeses were distributed from August 1 to September 28 and sold by Albertsons, Safeway, Meijer, Harding’s, Shaw’s, Price Chopper, Market Basket, Raley’s, Save Mart, Giant Foods, Stop & Shop, Fresh Thyme, Lidl, Sprouts, Athenian Foods and Whole Foods, according to the notice.
The company advises consumers to avoid consuming cheeses that display expiration dates from September 28, 2022 to December 14, 2022.
The recalled products were sold under the following brand names:
- Black bear
- block and barrel
- charming
- Pebble
- Culinary Tour
- fredricks
- fresh thyme
- Glenview Farms
- good and gather
- by Heinen
- Joan of Arc
- La Bonne Vie
- Lidl
- life in provence
- market 32
- married
- Metropolitan
- Prestige
- cousin taglio
- Red Apple Cheese
- Renee Picot
- Saint Randeaux
- San Rocco
- flavor of inspiration
- trader joe
Some retailers may have repackaged the cheeses into smaller containers for individual resale, meaning the products may not have any of the original labels or product information, according to a report. withdrawal notice published by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The agency advises consumers to contact their retailer or toss out any Brie or Camembert cheese if they are unsure.
The CDC advises anyone who purchased the affected products to immediately throw them away and clean refrigerators, containers and surfaces that may have come in contact with the recalled items. The agency says listeria can survive in the refrigerator and can spread to other foods and surfaces.
For more product details, please refer to the CDC or FDA recall notice or contact the Old Europe Cheese Helpline at (269) 925-5003.
The recall was initiated after a “full environmental audit” of 120 products, which also included areas of the manufacturing plant, to find possible listeria contamination.
While the company says none of the cheeses tested positive for the bacteria, a sample taken from the facility did. That strain matched the one in the outbreak.
Listeria infections linked to the same strain have been seen in California, Texas, Georgia, Michigan, Massachusetts and New Jersey, according to the CDC. Five patients were hospitalized due to infection and four of those people reported eating Brie or Camembert cheese.
Listeria monocytogenes
Listeria monocytogenes is a foodborne bacteria that can cause illness with short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, according to the CDC.
Although it is generally rare and causes a mild infection in healthy people, it mainly affects young children, the elderly, or people with weakened immune systems, as well as pregnant women.
In pregnant women, it can cause serious problems, such as miscarriages and stillbirths, and cause serious illness in the fetus or newborn. In adults over 65 years of age and those with weakened immune systems, listeria monocytogenes can, in some cases, cause serious infections in the bloodstream, such as sepsis, or in the brain, which can lead to meningitis or encephalitis.
It is estimated that 1,600 people contract listeriosis each year, of whom approximately 260 die from the disease.
