Torres Hilldale Expands Recall Of Its Mexican-Style Cheeses

Posted on March 28, 2009 by Listeria Lawyer

 Four big states -- New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida and Alabama—have been added to the recall of Torres Hillsdale Country Cheese's Asadero and Oaxaca soft Mexican-style cheeses.

The recall was expanded to the four states after initially covering Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin.

The recalled cheeses were distributed in 10-pound balls and 16- and 12-ounce plastic packages, sold under the name "Aguas Calientes," and in 6-pound blocks shrink-wrapped in clear plastic under the name "El Jaliciense."

The recall, which we originally reported here, is due to concern the cheeses may be contaminated with Listeria. No illnesses associated with the recall have yet been reported.

 

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Michigan-Made Mexican Cheeses Recalled By Torres Hillsdale Country

Posted on March 24, 2009 by Listeria Lawyer

Torres Hillsdale Country Cheese of Reading, Michigan has recalled  Asadero and Oaxaca soft Mexican-style cheeses due to potential Listeria contamination.

Consumption of food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes can cause Listeriosis, an uncommon but potentially fatal disease. Listeriosis can cause high fever, severe headache, neck stiffness and nausea. Listeriosis can also cause miscarriages and stillbirths. The very young, the pregnant, the elderly and persons with compromised immune systems are the most susceptible to infection. People experiencing these problems should seek immediate medical attention.

A routine sample of Asadero cheese, taken by an inspector from the Michigan Department of Agriculture’s Food and Dairy Division on February 23, 2009, was subsequently tested by the Michigan Department of Agriculture Laboratory and discovered to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

Products were distributed to the following states: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin.

The recalled Asadero and Oaxaca cheese products were distributed to retails stores and delis in 10 lb balls, 16- and 12 oz plastic packages, sold under the name "Aguas Calientes". Product was also sold in 6 lb blocks shrink-wrapped in clear plastic, under the name "El Jaliciense". Packaging may also include a label with the name "Torres Hillsdale Country Cheese LLC"

The recall encompasses all productions dates between August 1, 2008 (expiration date 10/29/2008) and February 27, 2009 (expiration date 5/10/2009).

No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with the recalled products.

Consumers and retailers are urged to return all unused recalled product to the manufacturer.

Consumers with questions may contact Salvador Torres, Manager, Torres Hillsdale Country Cheese LLC at 517-368-5990.


 

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Canadian Researchers Find Listeria Traffic Spiked When People Were Getting Sick

Posted on March 17, 2009 by Listeria Lawyer

Those Canadian researchers who found that searches for “listeriosis" spiked before last summer's outbreak caused by dirty ready-to-eat meat cutting machines at Maple Leaf's Toronto plant was announced publicly did not at all surprise us.

Canadians were getting sick prior to the public announcement, and their doctors were giving them suspected causes of their illnesses. In the wired world, it's natural to seek more information through a web search once you get home from the doctor.

This is one of more than a dozen of the "bug" blogs sponsored by the law firm of Marler Clark. Like most of the "bug" sites, this blog is paired with an educational site going by the address www.about-listeria.com   Whenever an outbreak is about to be announced, we see traffic spikes.

Now this phenomenon is verified by researchers. Agweek reports:

Online searches for the term “listeriosis” spiked several weeks before last summer’s outbreak of the illness was revealed to the public, an article reviewing Internet-based disease surveillance systems shows.

The Google searches for listeriosis, which is the illness caused by Listeria bacteria, began to climb in mid-July and peaked in the first week of August. When the outbreak came to light in the third week of August, online searches for the more commonly used term “Listeria” soared, while searches for listeriosis continued to decline.

The authors of the article, which was published electronically March 12 by the Canadian Medical Association Journal, say they don’t know who was doing the searching before the outbreak was publicly acknowledged. Nor do they know how many more searches than usual would have been needed to create the spike they noted.

More here from Agweek.

 

 

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Peregrina Cheeses Swept Up In Listeria Recall

Posted on March 9, 2009 by Listeria Attorney

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) late Monday warned Americans not to eat Queso Fresco Fresh Cheese Mexican style soft cheese (two specific lots) or any Queso Cotija Molido Mexican style grated cheese manufactured and distributed by Peregrina Cheese Corp. of New York City.

The cheese products could be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

Two lots of its Queso Fresco Fresh Cheese Mexican style soft cheese and one lot of its Queso Cotija Molido Mexican style grated cheese are involved in the recall.

The Queso Fresco Fresh Cheese comes in a 14-ounce foil wrapped packages marked with lot number 4469 or 4477 affixed to each package on a white sticker and bearing UPC number 8 17424 00024 6 and Plant # 36-8431.

The Queso Cotija Molido Cheese comes in 15-ounce clear plastic bags that are marked with UPC number 8 17424 00027 7 and Plant # 36-1388, but do not contain a lot number or production date.

Both products were distributed to retail stores in the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx and Manhattan, and two towns in Pennsylvania (Scranton and Hazelton) in early February. The company has contacted all its customers and instructed them to destroy all affected products in their inventory.

For more from FDA, go here.

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Raw Cheese Contaminated With Listeria Blamed For Baby Deaths

Posted on March 7, 2009 by Listeria Attorney

 

According to the Spokane Newspaper, Washington State health investigators are still attempting to solve several cases of food-borne infections that have caused several pregnant women to lose their babies since January.

They suspect the women in Yakima, Klickitat and King counties ate unpasteurized cheese that was contaminated with listeria bacteria. Listeria is often found in soft cheeses such as Mexican-style queso fresco and queso Blanco, along with feta, brie, camembert, Roquefort and bleu. The Yakima Public Health Department reported last week that early laboratory results indicated that thelisteria infections came from a common source.

Pregnant women and their newborns are 20 times more likely than other healthy adults to be infected. People with suppressed immune systems are also at risk of becoming seriously ill from listeria, which can result in bloodstream infections or meningitis. They should avoid foods such as raw milk and deli foods such as sandwich meats, salads and vegetables.

We represented a young couple who lost their baby due to unknowingly consuming unpasteurized cheese while in Canada a few years ago, See, "Woman who lost her baby to sue over bad cheese."  There have been other reported cases in the past - See, "Outbreak of Listeriosis among Mexican Immigrants as a Result of Consumption of Illicitly Produced Mexican-Style Cheese."  Washington State University has done some good work on trying to prevent these losses - See, "The Abuela Project: A Community Based Food Safety Intervention involving Queso Fresco, a Raw-Milk Cheese."

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Test Positive For Listeria In Canada, And You Will Have To Tell The Government

Posted on March 1, 2009 by Listeria Lawyer

Canada has boosted requirements for testing and reporting of listeria in processing plants that make cold cuts and other ready-to-eat (RTE) meats.

The new requirements take effect immediately, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and will mean production facilities must implement "rigourous environmental testing" for listeria and to "immediately" report positive results to CFIA.

A CFIA sampling procedure, will ensure compliance.

"In the coming weeks, the CFIA will initiate a process to ensure that Canada's trading partners are ready and able to provide an equal level of listeria control for the products they export to Canada," CFIA said.

CFIA will "verify the effectiveness" of actions that plant operators take to respond to positive listeria findings. CFIA said it will undertake an "expanded detection program" for listeria and other foodborne microbial pathogens. 

Maple Leaf's ready to eat meat processing plant in Toronto was responsible for a listeria outbreak last summer that killed 20 across Canada.   Michael McCain, Maple Leaf's chief executive officer, promised to exceed the new standards being imposed by the government.

For more, go here.

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