New York State Agriculture Commissioner Darrel Aubertine has warned consumers in the metropolitan New York area to not consume certain Queso Fresco, Fresh Cheese products made by Mexicali Cheese due to possible Listeria contamination.
The product is packaged in a 14 oz. plastic tub that bears the plant number 36-0128 and a code of 071512. This consumer warning affects all packages with this code.
The containers bear the following product names: Mexicali Queso Fresco Mexicano, Mexican Style Fresh Cheese; or Acatlan Queso Fresco, Fresh Cheese.
A routine sample of the cheese, collected by an inspector from the Division of Milk Control and Dairy Services on 20 June 2012, was found to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. On 25 June 2012, the manufacturer was notified of a preliminary positive test result and voluntarily recalled the product from their customers.
Till date, no illnesses linked to the consumption of this product were reported.
Listeria monocytogenes is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail, or elderly people and others with weakened immune systems.
