Cheese contaminated with Listeria is back in the news.  

Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Tommy Irvin on 5/15/08 announced that his food scientists had found Listeria monocytogenes in a sample taken from Bright Water Smoked Salmon & Cheese Spread.

The product involved is in a 7-ounce package with a "BEST BUY" date of 06/06/08.  The UPC code is 1971100073.   Charlotte, N.C.-based Bright Water Seafoods produces the cheese. (See picture)

The other  recall due to Listeria involves Tennessee Aged Black Pepper Cheese.

Philadelphia, TN-based Sweetwater Valley Farm,  Inc. is recalling its Tennessee Aged Black Pepper Cheese.  The lot number is 616-361.   It comes in 5, 7, and 10-ounce bars and was sold through Sweetwater’s retail store in Philadelphia, TN and a winery in Portland, TN.

Consumers returning the product are being offered replacements or refunds.  Distribution of the bad cheese began last Dec. 27 and continued through May 12.

The listeria contamination was found through routine sampling by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture.

No illnesses have yet been connected to either the Bright Water nor Sweetwater Valley cheeses.