Cheese Recalled In NY Stores Due To Listeria Outbreak

NEW YORK — You may want to check the cheese you have in your refrigerator.

The FDA announced on Friday that consumers should throw out certain cheeses from 25 brands as they investigate listeriosis cases that have emerged around the country.

The CDC linked six cases to the outbreak so far, in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Georgia, Michigan, Texas and California. Five people were hospitalized, but no deaths have been reported. The last illness onset occurred August 5, and cases go back as far as 2017, FDA officials said.

"The true number of sick people in this outbreak is likely higher than the number reported, and this outbreak may not be limited to the states with known illnesses," the CDC warned. "This is because some people recover without medical care and are not tested for Listeria. Recalled cheese was distributed nationwide."

Old Europe Cheese, Inc., based in Michigan, issued a voluntary recall on its Brie and Camembert soft cheese products because of potential Listeria monocytogenes contamination. The impacted products were distributed nationwide and in Mexico, from Aug. 1, 2022 through September 28, 2022.

Some of the stores included on the list with New York locations are:

• Lidl
• Price Chopper
• Stop & Shop
• Target
• Trader Joe's
• Whole Foods Market

Other retailers on the FDA list include Albertsons, Safeway, Meijer, Harding's, Shaw's, Market Basket, Raley's, Save Mart, Giant Foods, Fresh Thyme, Sprouts and Athenian Foods. However, the FDA added that "this list may not include all retail establishments that have received the recalled product or may include retail establishments that did not actually receive the recalled product."

The FDA recall includes select products from the following brands:

• Black Bear
• Block & Barrel
• Charmant
• Cobblestone
• Culinary Tour
• Fredericks
• Fresh Thyme
• Glenview Farms
• Good & Gather (Target private label)
• Heinen's
• Joan of Arc
• La Bonne Vie
• Lidl Preferred Selection
• Life in Provence
• Market 32
• Matrie’d
• Metropolitan
• Prestige
• Primo Taglio
• Red Apple Cheese
• Reny Picot
• St. Randeaux
• St. Rocco
• Taste of Inspiration
• Trader Joe's

You can see the full list of impacted products, with detailed descriptions, UPC codes and photos here. The recalled products have best-by dates ranging from Sept. 28, 2022 to Dec. 14, 2022.

Listeria bacteria can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections, especially for older adults, people with weakened immune systems, pregnant women and children. Anyone who thinks they may be ill should contact their doctor.

Symptoms of listeriosis include high fever, muscle aches, severe headaches, stiff neck, nausea, confusion, loss of balance, convulsions, abdominal pain and diarrhea.

In pregnant women, the infection can cause miscarriages, still births or premature delivery, officials said.

Anyone in the high-risk categories who experiences flu-like symptoms after eating possibly contaminated food should seek medical care and tell their doctors about eating the contaminated food, according to FDA guidance. The infection can be treated with antibiotics.

The recall was triggered after an environmental audit of 120 samples of both the products and the company's facilities. While none of the products showed contamination, one facility's samples tested positive, according to the FDA. The positive strain has been linked to six listeria cases in the past five years, officials said.

"The source of potential contamination has been identified and Old Europe Cheese is taking active measures to eliminate it," the FDA notice says. "Production of these products has been stopped and will not restart until the Company has full confidence in the effectivity of the applied measures."

FDA officials advise consumers, restaurants and retailers to throw away the affected cheeses. Retailers may have repackaged bulk cheese products into smaller containers and sold the repackaged products to customers without the original product information. If you're unsure where your Brie or Camembert cheese came from, ask your retailer or throw it away, the FDA says.

The FDA also recommends that anyone who has the recalled products use extra caution in cleaning and sanitizing any surfaces or containers that may have touched the products. Listeria can survive in the refrigerator and can easily spread to other foods and surfaces.

Old Europe Cheese, Inc. has set up a telephone line to answer questions about the recall. You can call 269-925-5003, ext. 335 on weekdays from 9 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. -4 p.m. ET.

To report a complaint or adverse event (illness or serious allergic reaction), you can:

• call an FDA consumer complaint coordinator.
• complete a Voluntary MedWatch form online.
• complete a paper Voluntary MedWatch form and mail to the FDA.