Listeria-Contaminated Cheese Recalled From Several MD Grocery Chains

MARYLAND — Numerous people around the country have been sickened from listeria contained in contaminated cheese, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The cheese from 25 different brands is sold around the country.

A total of six cases have been linked to the outbreak from Old Europe Cheese, Inc. The recall includes its brie and camembert cheeses.

The impacted products were distributed from Aug. 1 through Wednesday to retailers such as Food Lion, Trader Joe's, Giant Foods, Albertsons, Safeway, Whole Foods and Lidl. The recall impacts select products from the following brands, according to the Food and Drug Administration:

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

The recalled products have best-by dates ranging from Sept. 28 to Dec. 14. See a full list of impacted products with photos.

The products were distributed from Aug. 1 through Sept. 28, and were available at supermarkets, wholesale and retail stores nationwide and in Mexico. Retailers include:

• 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
• Whole Foods

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.

If you are unsure of what brand your Brie or Camembert cheese is, or if it is an Old Europe Cheese, Inc. product, ask your retailer or throw it away.

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

The CDC 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. This is because some people recover without medical care and are not tested for Listeria. Recalled cheese was distributed nationwide."

Listeria can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems, the FDA says. Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, listeria can also cause miscarriages and stillbirths during pregnancy.

The recall occurred after a full environmental audit of 120 samples of both the product and the company's facilities. None of the products showed contamination, but 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, health officials said.

"The source of potential contamination has been identified and Old Europe Cheese is taking active measures to eliminate it," the recall 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."

Health officials advised consumers, restaurants and retails to throw away the impacted cheeses. Retailers may have repackaged bulk cheese items into smaller containers and sold the repackaged products to customers without the original labeling or product information. If you're unsure where your brie or camembert cheese is from, ask your retailer or throw it away, the FDA says.

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

Consumers with symptoms should contact their health care provider, the FDA says. To report a complaint of adverse event (illness or serious allergic reaction), consumers can:

• Call an FDA consumer complaint coordinator to speak directly to a person.
• Complete a Voluntary MedWatch form online.
• Complete a paper Voluntary MedWatch form to mail to the FDA.

With reporting from Patch correspondent Josh Bakan