Panera Bread Recalls Some Cream Cheese

Panera Bread has announced it is voluntarily recalling some plain and flavored cream cheeses sold at its U.S. locations, including Rhode Island. The chain has eight bakery/cafes in Rhode Island. They are located in Cranston (4000 Chapel View Blvd, 02920); East Greenwich (1000 Division St., 02818); Lincoln (613 George Washington Highway, 02865); Newport (49 Long Wharf Mall, 02840); Providence (43 Providence Place, 02903); Smithfield (180 Smithfield Crossing, 02917); Wakefield (180 Old Tower Hill Road, 02879); and Warwick (1000 Bald Hill Road, 02886).

The recall is due to possible Listeria contamination. The chain said samples of one of its varieties from a single day of production tested positive for the Listeria monocytogenes bacteria, and that tests on cream cheese samples manufactured the day before and after were negative.

According to the FDA, Listeria Monocytogenes is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people and others with weakened immune systems. It's also particularly dangerous to pregnant women, as it can cause miscarriages and still births.

No illness has been connected to the products so far.

Healthy people usually only suffer short-term symptoms, such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea.

Both 2-ounce and 8-ounce varieties with an expiration date before April 2, 2018, are subject to the recall. The affected brands are Plain Cream Cheese, Reduced-Fat Plain Cream Cheese, Reduced-Fat Chive & Onion Cream Cheese, Reduced-Fat Honey Walnut Cream Cheese, Reduced-Fat Wild Blueberry Cream Cheese.

Customers who bought the cream cheese should throw it away and call the company at 1 (855)-6-PANERA or visit the customer help website, for information about how to claim a full refund.

Kara Seymour contributed to this report.

Main image: AP Photo/Steven Senne