The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is urging food services in 15 states to discard or return bags of various types of shredded cheeses distributed by Sargento over concerns of potential listeria contamination.
According to the distributor, the potentially contaminated packages—with “use-by” dates stretching from Feb. 5 through July of this year—were sold to food service businesses only and have not been sold to retail stores.
The recalled products are shredded Cojita cheese, grated parmesan, Swiss cheese, asiago cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, cheddar and white cheddar, Sargento cheese, Italian cheese blend, taco cheese blend, and quesadilla cheese.
The recall is part of a larger recall of about four dozen products—including cheese, crema, sour cream, salads, and yogurt—manufactured by Rizo-López Foods Inc., sold nationwide under several brand names, including 365 Whole Foods, Campesino, Rico, Trader Joe’s and others. Several of these products were sold at retail stores.
The FDA has the complete product descriptions and UPC (universal product codes) of all recalled products available on its website.
Sargento immediately terminated its relationship with Rizo-Lopez Foods Inc., a spokesperson for the company said.
“As a family-owned company, the safety and quality of our products are our highest priority.”
Rizo-Lopez Foods Inc. has been investigated multiple times for several listeria outbreaks, the latest occurring in 2021 and 2017. The earliest case dates back to 2014.
The CDC and FDA reopened the investigation into Rizo-Lopez Foods Inc. in January after the Hawaii State Department of Health reported that it had found listeria bacteria in a sample of Rizo Bros Aged Cotija cheese.
The cheese sample was found to contain the same strain of listeria that caused illnesses in the earlier outbreaks, the FDA said.
CDC data shows that the multiple listeria outbreaks linked to Rizo-Lopez Foods have, over the past ten years, resulted in two deaths, 23 hospitalizations, and 26 illnesses in 11 states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Washington).
The true number of sick people is likely significantly higher than the reported numbers, the CDC said, as many recover without medical care and never get tested for listeria. Recent illnesses may also be unreported as it typically takes 3 to 4 weeks to determine if a sick person is part of an outbreak, the health agency said.
Symptoms usually start within two weeks after eating food contaminated with listeria but may start as early as the same day or as late as ten weeks after, according to the CDC.
Not everyone who ingests food contaminated with listeria becomes ill, but sickness is most likely to develop in pregnant women, newborns, adults aged 65 or older, and people with weakened immune systems.
The CDC advised everyone to make sure to clean the refrigerator, containers, and surfaces that may have touched the recalled products, as the bacteria can easily survive and spread to other foods and surfaces.
