Panera Bread Recall Impacts Ohio Cafes

To protect its customers, Panera Bread is voluntarily recalling cream cheese from its bakery-cafe businesses after a sample tested positive for listeria contamination. The recall is precautionary and the contaminated sample came from a single-day of production.

Panera Bread is voluntarily recalling cream cheese products from its bakery-cafes nationwide after one variety showed the 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.

Northeast Ohio's Panera locations include:

• Cleveland - 11490 Euclid Ave.
• Lakewood - 14701 Detroit Ave.
• Brooklyn - 5090 Tiedeman Rd.
• Independence - 6700 Rockside Rd.
• Rocky River - 19705 Center Ridge Rd.
• South Euclid - 13901 Cedar Rd.
• Parma - 8109 W. Ridgewood Dr.
• Seven Hills - 7337 Broadview Rd.
• Warrensville Heights - 4301 Richmond Rd.
• Middleburg Heights - 18324 Bagley Rd.

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.

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

No one has been sickened so far the company said in its statement Sunday.

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.

The recall only affects cream cheese sold in bakery cafes in the United States, and doesn’t affect any other of Panera’s food products.

“The safety of our guests and associates is paramount, therefore we are recalling all cream cheese products sold in the US with an active shelf life. We have likewise ceased all manufacturing in the associated cream cheese facility,” Blaine Hurst, Panera’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “Only one variety of 2-oz cream cheese from a single day yielded the positive result. Our intent is to go above and beyond for our guests. You should expect nothing less from Panera.”

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.

Main image: AP Photo/Steven Senne, File