This article was updated Feb. 24 with further recall information.
At least eight people have been sickened with Listeria monocytogenes infections after eating cheese produced by Roos Foods under a number of brand names, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Seven patients were hospitalized in Maryland, while one person in California has died. Five of the illnesses involved a pregnancy: two sickened mother-newborn pairs and an additional sickened newborn.
The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene put out a warning on Wednesday advising people not to eat cheese products made by Roos Foods of Kenton, DE.
Roos Foods is recalling all lots of the following products:
Mexicana:
- Cuajada En Terron
- Cuajada/Cuajadita Cacera
- Cuajada Fresca
- Queso Fresca Round
- Queso Dura Viejo Hard Cheeses
Amigo:
- Cuajada En Terron
- Cuajada/Cuajadita Cacera
- Cuajada Fresca
- Queso Fresca Round
- Queso Dura Viejo Hard Cheeses;
- Santa Rosa De Lima:
- Cuajada En Terron
- Cuajada/Cuajadita Cacera
- Cuajada Fresca
- Queso Fresca Round
- Queso Dura Viejo Hard Cheeses
Anita Queso Fresco
The products are packaged in flexible plastic bags and rigid plastic clam shell packages in 12 oz. and 16 oz. sizes under the brand names: Mexicana, Amigo, Santa Rosa De Lima, and Anita. They were distributed in Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C through retail stores.
Samples of Cuajada en Terron (Fresh Cheese Curd), collected by the Commonwealth of Virginia Dept of Agriculture & Consumer Services, have been found to contain Listeria monocytogenes.
The company has ceased the production and distribution of the products as FDA and the company continue their investigation as to what caused the problem. Customers should destroy all lots of the above listed products of the brand names Mexicana, Amigo, Santa Rosa De Lima and Anita, or return products to place of purchase for a refund.
Dates of illness diagnosis range from August 1, 2013, to November 27, 2013.
These are presumably pasteurized cheese products, not products made using raw milk.
Below are some of the labels associated with recalled cheeses:
