CA Food Company Put Customers' Lives At Risk In Deadly Outbreak: Federal Authorities

MODESTO, CA — A California cheese company whose products were tied to a fatal listeria outbreak can no longer make or distribute certain foods under a federal settlement announced this week, according to authorities.

Several of its brands are popular grocery store staples in California.

Rizo Lopez Foods Inc. made cheese at its Modesto facility, where the company broke the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act by manufacturing adulterated items, authorities said. Its products were sold under the brand names 365 Whole Foods Market, Tio Francisco, Don Francisco, Rizo Bros., Rio Grande, Food City, El Huache, La Ordena, San Carlos, Campesino, Santa Maria, Dos Ranchitos and Casa Cardenas, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Federal authorities filed a complaint on Sept. 27 in California’s Eastern District outlining the company’s connection to the listeria cases, officials said.

“Through this unfortunate outbreak, we see what can happen when a company fails to meet their legal responsibilities,” U.S. Food & Drug Administration Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods Jim Jones said in a news release.

Health officials in Hawaii in January found Listeria monocytogenes in aged cotija Mexican grating cheese made by the company, according to officials. An inspection of the Modesto facility revealed the same bacterial pathogen in two areas of the site as well as other unsanitary conditions, authorities said.

A genetic analysis matched the strain collected in Hawaii to the facility as well as to samples from people sickened as early as 2014 in a yearslong outbreak that involved at least 26 cases of listeriosis in 11 states, according to the department.

The outbreak included 23 hospitalizations, two deaths and one pregnancy loss, according to the FDA, which said the outbreak was linked specifically to queso fresco and cotija cheese made at the facility. Rizo Lopez in February recalled all dairy products made at its Modesto site, authorities said.

“This is the first time any product that we manufacture has been linked to a food-borne illness,” President and CEO Edwin Rizo told The Modesto Bee in a February statement. “As soon as we were aware of this, we made the immediate decision to stop production and voluntarily recall all our products manufactured in our facility.”

As part of the settlement, Rizo Lopez has discontinued all operations related to food preparation and must notify the FDA if it intends to resume business and comply with remedial measures and inspections, according to the department.

“The Justice Department and FDA will continue to work closely on enforcement actions against food manufacturers who fail to meet their obligations and put the health of their customers at risk,” Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton, head of the justice department’s Civil Division, said in a news release.