Deadly Listeria Outbreak Linked To NJ Cheese Company

PASSAIC COUNTY, NJ — A Passaic County-based cheese company has admitted to selling contaminated food that resulted in a deadly listeriosis outbreak, federal prosecutors said.

Abuelito Cheese Inc., a Paterson food distribution company also known as “El Abuelito Cheese,” admitted on Monday to selling “adulterated” products that killed one person and put more than a dozen in the hospital.

Specifically, the company’s queso fresco, which it manufactures, was found to contain Listeria innocua and Listeria grayi. The bacteria were also found in the facility itself after a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspection.

Abuelito Cheese Inc. products are shipped across New Jersey, as well as Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and New York.

The FDA issued a recall in February 2021 on all of the company’s products.

The company’s cheese was the cause of a listeriosis outbreak that resulted in at least 13 hospitalizations and one death across four states.

The company is scheduled for sentencing in October. The charge of introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce can result in a maximum penalty of five years of probation and a fine of $500,000.

Anyone who believes they were affected by the February 2021 listeriosis outbreak caused by Abuelito Cheese Inc.’s products can contact the Department of Justice’s Victim Witness Unit by calling 888-549-3945 or emailing VictimAssistance.fraud@usdoj.gov.