Quesos Mi Pueblito Expands List Of Cheese Products Recalled For Listeria

Posted by Listeria Lawyer on August 28, 2009

Quesos Mi Pueblito, LLC of Passaic, NJ is greatly expanding its previous recall (see below) with the following cheese products with Sell by Date from February 2, 2009 to present:

LA FE OAXACA STRING CHEESE
EL VIEJITO OAXACA CHEESE
MI PUEBLITO COTIJA/AñEJO
MI PUEBLITO CUAJADA FRESCA
MI PUEBLITO QUESO COLOMBIANO DE ARRIERO
MI PUEBLITO QUESO MOLIDO
MI PUEBLITO QUESO COTIJA TRIANGULO
MI PUEBLITO QUESO FRESCO
MI PUEBLITO QUESO FRESCO DE RANCHO
MI PUEBLITO QUESO CASERO
MI PUEBLITO QUESO OAXACA
MI PUEBLITO REQUESON
MI PUEBLITO SERRANO

No illnesses have yet been associated with this recall, but the cheese products may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. This is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.  Others may survive, but suffer  high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, and the infection can cause miscarriages and still births among pregnant women.

The recalled cheese was distributed in New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia through Puebla Foods, INC., Passaic, N.J. to retail stores and wholesalers.  A list of retail outlets carrying the cheese has not yet been released.

There is a list of sizes and packages on the FDA recall site.

Mi Pueblito Queso Fresco Soft Mexican Cheese Recalled Due To Listeria Contamination

Posted by Listeria Lawyer on August 24, 2009

Passaic, NJ-based Puebla Foods Inc. said it is recalling its Mi Pueblito Queso Fresco soft Mexican cheese because of possible listeria contamination.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said the recalled cheese, sold in a clear plastic 14-ounce packages with a "Sell by Date" of "09/08/09" may be contaminated with listeria monocytogenes, a bacterium that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections.

The recalled cheese was distributed in the New Jersey, New York, Delaware, and Virginia.

Consumers can return the recalled cheese for a refund or contact the company at 973-473-4494. 

Listeria Outbreak On Virgin Blue Airlines Came From The Chicken Wraps

Posted by Listeria Lawyer on August 19, 2009

Virgin Blue is shaking up the airline business in Australia.   It made a big mistake, however, when it chose Wollongong’s GMI Food Wholesalers Pty. Ltd., trading as Australian Poultry and Food Wholesalers, as its poultry supplier.

The airline used the poultry in “chicken wraps” fed to passengers, but that’s where things really went badly. Two of the passengers were pregnant women and the “chicken wraps” were contaminated with listeria.

The listeria made seven Virgin passengers sick, and was responsible for sending the two women into premature labor. Both delivered healthy babies.

Australia’s health officials said the contaminated chicken was processed at the Wollongong .   It is now prohibited from producing or selling anything from the facility

Los Angeles County Health Officials Fear Sale of Latin American Cheeses By Street Vendors Is "A Recipe For Disaster"

Posted by Listeria Lawyer on August 19, 2009

 Los Angeles County's public health officials are joining some of their counterparts in Utah by warning consumers NOT to purchase Latin American-style soft cheeses from unlicensed manufacturers or vendors because they may be unsafe to eat.

The dairy products that most concern LA County health officials are Queso Fresco, Panela, Queso Seco, Asadero, Queso Oaxaca, Queso Cotija and Cream, says Dr. Jonathan E. Fielding, the county's director of public health.  

LA County is working with attorneys and federal agencies to have the potentially harmful products banned from sale.  "With licensed dairy products, you cannot be sure of what you're getting," Fielding said.  "They may contain unpasteurized milk, have been made in unsanitary conditions and may be have been transported without refrigeration."

Fielding says the current sale of such cheeses by street vendors is a "recipe for disaster"  Consumers risk Listeria, Salmonella, E. coli, bovine Tuberculosis and Brucella from the unsafe cheeses.

LA County health officials said safe handling of cheese requires: 1.) Keeping it refrigerated at 41 degrees Fahrenheit or below; 2.) Keeping it wrapped in plastic; 3.) Being sure everyone coming into contact with it had washed their hands with soap in warm water; 4.) Use different utensils to cut the cheese in order to avoid any cross contamination with meat, poultry or seafood.

Culinary Circle Macaroni & Cheese Recalled By Supervalu Stores

Posted by Listeria Lawyer on August 17, 2009

Frozen Culinary Circle™ Gourmet Macaroni and Cheese products are being recalled because they may have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

The products are found in the frozen foods section in a 38 oz. package and were sold at SUPERVALU-owned stores including Acme®, Albertsons®, bigg’s®, Cub Foods®, Farm Fresh®, Hornbacher’s®, Jewel-Osco®, Lucky®, Shaw’s/Star Market™, Shop ‘n Save®, and Shoppers Food & Pharmacy® in all of the states where they operate.

The possibility for contamination was identified through routine sampling of the product at the manufacturing facility. There have been no reported illnesses associated with the mac and cheese product. This product recall includes all:

Product Name and Description: Culinary Circle Gourmet Macaroni and Cheese, a frozen product, 38 oz. package UPC#: 41130 38704.

Listeria Problem That Put Peregrina Cheese In Federal Court Brings Recall Of All Products Since Last St. Pat's Day

Posted by Listeria Lawyer on August 13, 2009

We previously reported on Brooklyn’s Peregrina Cheese Inc. and the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York entering into a 16-page Consent Degree with many requirements---including the recall of all food products the company has distributed since March 17, 2009.

The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) today posted the company's press release with more details about the recall.  In part, it said:

The recall action involves the following products produced since March 17, 2009:

  • Peregrina Cheese brand QUESO FRESCO Fresh Cheese, 14 Oz. (397 g) foil-wrapped package, Plant # 36-8431, UPC 8 17424 00024 6, all lot codes on the market produced since March 17, 2009.
  • Chipilo brand MEXICAN CHEESE QUESO FRESCO – Fresh Cheese, NET WT. 15 oz. (425g), Plant #36-8431, UPC 8 17424 00028 4, all lot codes on the market produced since March 17, 2009.
  • Peregrina Cheese brand QUESO HEBRA Queso Oaxaca, NET WT. 15 Oz. (425g), Plant #36-8431, UPC 8 17424 00026 0, all lot codes on the market produced since March 17, 2009.
  • Peregrina Cheese brand QUESO COTIJA MOLIDO, NET WT. 15 OZ. plastic bags, Plant # 36-1388, UPC 8 17424 00027 7, all lot codes on the market produced since March 17, 2009.
  • Peregrina Cheese brand Flan, NET WT 8 oz., Plant # 36-8431, UPC 8 17424 00026 0, all lot codes on the market produced since March 17, 2009.
  • Peregrina Cheese brand GELATIN, NET WT. 10 OZ., Plant # 36-8431, UPC 8 17424 00031 4, all lot codes on the market produced since March 17, 2009.
  • Peregrina Cheese brand CREMA MEXICANA Mexican Cream, Weight 16 Oz., Plant # 55-8991, UPC 8 17424 00030 7, all lot codes on the market produced since March 17, 2009.

The products were distributed to retail stores in New York and Pennsylvania.  No illnesses have yet been associated with the recalled cheeses.  The concern is they have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections usually in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.

The Consent Degree was filed in late July with the U.S. District Court for Eastern New York.
U.S. District Attorney Benton J. Campbell, representing FDA, had asked the federal court to shut down the Peregrina Cheese factory at 342 Ten Eyck Street in Brooklyn for problems with listeria contamination and inspections failures. The federal government also sought to bar Javier and Isabel Peregrina from the food business as individuals. 

MAPLE LEAF INITIATES PRECAUTIONARY RECALL OF NINE WIENER PRODUCTS

Posted by Listeria Lawyer on August 04, 2009

What follows is a company press release:

TORONTO, Aug. 4, 2009 (Canada NewsWire via COMTEX) -- Maple Leaf Foods today announced it is proceeding with a recall of nine wiener products produced under the Hygrade, Shopsy's and Maple Leaf brands at its plant in Hamilton, Ontario, due to the possibility that they may contain traces of Listeria monocytogenes.
This is a precautionary measure only. The Company is 100% in compliance with the Government of Canada's new Listeria policy. The Public Health Agency of Canada has confirmed that there have been no reported illnesses related to these products. Cooking hotdogs to steaming hot also kills any potential foodborne bacteria, such as Listeria.

"After last August's tragedy, Maple Leaf is being ultra-cautious about Listeria," said Dr. Randall Huffman, Chief Food Safety Officer for Maple Leaf Foods. "The Hamilton plant has a very strong food safety testing and sanitation program, and the Listeria monocytogenes found in random product samples is at very low levels. Listeria exists in all food plants and many consumer fridges. It is commonly found in the environment and one in 200 packages of all meat and poultry products in the marketplace will likely contain Listeria monocytogenes, even higher in other ready to eat foods. We take whatever steps we can to be cautious when we know specific lots that may be exposed, as a precautionary step. Listeria can never be eliminated but it can be effectively controlled. Maple Leaf is doing more aggressive and frequent Listeria testing at our plants than regulations require, and that means we're finding it more and acting whenever there is a potential and even remote food safety risk."

Maple Leaf has built a safety net of hold and test quarantine procedures; however, the effectiveness of product quarantine depends on rapid testing methods which the government have not yet approved. The product in question was produced during a period when test results were not yet available due to the excessively long lead time of currently government approved testing methods. We urge the Canadian government to approve commercially proven in-plant rapid testing methods which are now widely in use in the United States and Europe and Maple Leaf will immediately implement this technology at all our prepared meat plants to improve the effectiveness of our quarantine procedures.

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