Listeria-Contaminated Cheese Sold In PA Stores: Recall Expands

PENNSYLVANIA — The Listeria outbreak that contaminated numerous cheeses sold in stores across the country, including Pennsylvania, has expanded to include additional products, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The outbreak has already hospitalized five people and sickened a six in several states, including Massachusetts, New Jersey, Georgia, Michigan, Texas, and California. Cases have not yet been confirmed in Pennsylvania.

The illnesses are connected to brie and camembert cheeses manufactured by Benton Harbor, Michigan-based Old Europe Cheese, Inc. The Food and Drug Administration's latest recall includes baked brie cheeses with "best by" dates of Sept. 28 to Dec. 14.

Old Europe Cheese makes products marketed under numerous prominent brands common in stores around the state, including Good & Gather, Trader Joe’s, Fresh Thyme and many more. Its products are sold at stores like Whole Foods, Stop & Shop, Albertsons, Safeway, Meijer and numerous others in the United States and Mexico.

Investigators are working to determine if additional products may be contaminated.

For a full list of recalled products and retailers, see here.

Anyone in possession of recalled cheese should throw it away and clean the refrigerator as well as containers and surfaces that may have touched the cheese. People should also call a healthcare provider about any Listeria symptoms that develop after eating recalled cheese.

Listeria can cause severe illness when the bacteria spread beyond the gut to other parts of the body, according to the CDC. Almost all severe illnesses result in hospitalizations and sometimes death. Symptoms of severe illness usually start within two weeks of eating food contaminated with Listeria, but may begin as early as the same day or as late as 10 weeks after.

People with Listeria may experience headaches, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, convulsions, fever and muscle aches. Those who are pregnant usually have only fever, fatigue and muscle aches, but Listeria can cause pregnancy loss or premature birth. It can also lead to serious illness or death in newborns.

Pregnant people and newborns, adults 65 years or older, and people with weakened immune systems are at higher risk for severe illness. Others can be infected with Listeria, but usually get mild food poisoning symptoms, such as diarrhea and fever, and recover without treatment.

For questions about the recalled cheese, contact Old Europe at 269-925-5003 ext. 335, 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2-4 p.m. EST Monday to Friday.