Multiple cheeses are being recalled over fears that they could cause death or miscarriage.
The FDA issued a recall alert for 64lbs of ‘Der Mutterschaf’ cheese after the product was found to be laced with the harmful bacteria listeria.
It is a Class 1 recall, the highest category, that suggests there is a ‘reasonable probability of… serious adverse health consequences or death’ from consuming the contaminated foods.
The cheeses were sold in 4oz to 8oz packages across seven stores in four states, the alert says, with the states being New Jersey, Virginia, Connecticut and Montana. The cheeses were on shelves within the last month.
Customers are advised to throw out the affected cheeses, made by Amish company Goot Essa LLC, or return them to sellers for a full refund.
No illnesses linked to the cheeses have been reported to date.
The FDA revealed in its release that the recall was triggered after routine testing detected listeria in one batch of the cheeses, which are made from sheep’s milk.
Similar tests on other cheeses sold by the company, which are aged in a cave for three to four months, did not detect the bacteria.
Shown above is a 4oz Der Mutterschaf cheese that is in the recall. The cheeses were made by Goot Essa, an Amish-owned company in Pennsylvania
Listeria infects about 1,250 people in the US every year, estimates suggest, but is a serious infection, with an estimated 1,000 patients hospitalized and about 170 dying from the disease annually.
Listeria, also called Listeriosis when it causes disease, is a serious infection caused by eating food contaminated with the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes.
It can be found in moist environments, soil, water, decaying vegetation and animals, and can survive refrigeration and other food preservation measures.
Many foods can harbor the bug, but it is usually found in unpasteurized milk, soft cheeses and ready-to-eat foods, such as pre-packed sandwiches. Cooked shellfish, cured meats and fish, including sushi and pre-cut fruit, are also a risk.
It is a particularly serious infection among children under five and older adults, who have weaker immune systems and are less able to fight off the infection.
It is also serious for pregnant women, with a listeria infection raising the risk of them suffering from a stillbirth or miscarriage.
The recalled cheeses are from Batch 33, with the 4oz cheese having the UPC code, found beneath the barcode, of 810154560189, while the 8oz cheeses have the UPC code of 810154560196.
It is not known how the cheeses became contaminated, as they had been pasteurized, a process that involves quickly heating and then cooling a food product to kill harmful bacteria.
The company says online that the cheeses were aged in a cave before being sold to customers (stock image)
The above image is a representation of listeria, a potentially deadly food bug (stock image)
But listeria thrives in cold and damp locations, and it is possible that the bacteria got onto machinery, which then spread it to the cheeses.
Translated from Pennsylvania Dutch, the name of the cheese means ‘the mother sheep cheese’ with Groot Essa saying online that it was aged in a cave for three to four months before being sold.
Patients infected with listeria suffer from a fever, diarrhea, stomach cramps and vomiting that may clear within a few days.
But in serious cases, the bacteria can spread into the blood and cause sepsis, a life-threatening condition where the body’s immune system overreacts to an infection.
An infection with listeria is normally treated with antibiotics.
It comes two weeks after the FDA issued a recall of cheese products sold nationwide over fears that they could be contaminated with bacteria from rodents.
Five cheeses sold at Wegmans were in the recall, which was revealed amid concerns the foods could also be contaminated with listeria.
The recall included the following products: Wegmans Medium Camembert Soft Ripened Cheese, 8.8 oz; Wegmans Assorted Cheese Flight, 1 lb; Wegmans Grilling Camembert with Tapenade & Roasted Tomatoes, 10 oz; and Wegmans Caramel Apple Pecan Topped Brie Cheese, 13 oz.
Affected products, supplied by Georgia-based Estancia Holdings, were pulled from stores after the company was notified by their French supplier that three shipments they received may be contaminated with listeria.
Recalled items were sold in the cheese department at all Wegmans stores in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington DC. They were sold between July 1 and August 12, 2025.
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .