A Kansas City-based company issued a voluntary recall on June 1 involving several kinds of cheeses after it was found that the products could be contaminated by listeria monocytogenes.
Affected products were distributed to grocery stores in Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Oklahoma, Nebraska, South Dakota, as well as one store in Mississippi and one in Florida. The stores include Fareway, Price Chopper, and Super Saver.
“Consumers who have purchased [the] affected product are encouraged to return it to the place of purchase for a full refund,” the FDA said.
- Cottonwood River Cheddar
- D'amir Brie Double Crème French Brie
- Milton Prairie Breeze White Cheddar Style
- Milton Tomato Garlic Cheddar
- Paris Brothers Mild Cheddar
- Paris Brothers Colby Jack
- Paris Brothers Pepper Jack
- Cervasi Pecorino Romano
Listeria monocytogenes is a food-borne bacteria that can cause illness with short-term symptoms like high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea, as per the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
While it is generally rare and causes a mild infection in healthy individuals, it primarily affects young children, the elderly, or those with weakened immune systems, as well as pregnant women.
In pregnant women, it can potentially cause serious problems such as miscarriages and stillbirths and cause severe disease in the fetus or newborn baby. In adults aged 65 and older and those with weakened immune systems, listeria monocytogenes can in some cases cause severe infections in the bloodstream, such as sepsis, or in the brain, which can cause meningitis or encephalitis.
An estimated 1,600 people get listeriosis each year, of which roughly 260 die from the illness.
