Panera Cream Cheese Recall For Listeria Impacts Loudoun County

LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA—If you've bought cream cheese products from Panera recently, you might want to consider tossing them. Panera has recalled cream cheese products at stores, including Loudoun County locations, after samples tested positive for Listeria bacteria contamination.

The chain said the contaminated batch came from a single day of production and that tests on cream cheese samples manufactured the day before and after were negative. No one has been sickened so far the company said in its statement Sunday.
These are the locations in and around Ashburn, Leesburg and Sterling:

• 43670 Greenway Corporate
• 19327 Promenade Drive
• 46300 Potomac Run Plaza
• 215 Fort Evans Road NE

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.

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.

Image via Panera Bread

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 via Steven Senne/Associated Press