Raw milk cheddar recalled; aged 60+ days?

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U.S. FDA announced today the recall of over 1100 lbs of raw milk cheddar cheese. According to a press release, Farm Country Cheese House of, Lakeview Michigan is recalling 1136.53 pounds of Raw Milk Cheddar, because it has the potential to be contaminated with Listeria Monocytogenes.ucm428088

Raw Milk Cheddar was distributed in the state of Michigan. More specific in the Grand Rapids metro area and, Detroit metro area through retail stores and specialty shops.

The Raw Milk Cheddar in question is packaged under two different labels. The first label will have Farm Country Cheese House logo on the far left hand side, and the product name (Raw Milk Cheddar) will be written on top of the label. This product is sold as an 8 oz block. This product has “Use By Date” on the back of the cheese. The dates are between October 28th 2015 and December 5th 2015. This label will also have a Julian Date in the lower right hand corner. These Julian dates are as follows: 14301, 14302, 14308, 14309, 14324, 14325, 14332, 14336, and 14339.

The second label will have Farm Country Cheese House logo on the far left hand side, and the product name (Raw Milk Cheddar) written in white over a light blue banner this label will have the “Use By Date” on the back, it will not have a Julian Date. The “Use By Date” dates are between October 28th 2015 and December 5th 2015. This will be packaged in 8oz blocks and 5 lb. loafs.

The recall was the result of a routine sampling program by the FDA which revealed that the finished products contained the bacteria. Farm Country Cheese House has ceased the production and distribution of the product as FDA and the company continues their investigation as to what caused the problem.

I’m guessing its a hard cheddar, and missing from the info is how long it was aged before sale.

This entry was posted in Food Safety Policy, Listeria and tagged , , by Ben Chapman. Bookmark the permalink.

About Ben Chapman

Dr. Ben Chapman is a professor and food safety extension specialist at North Carolina State University. As a teenager, a Saturday afternoon viewing of the classic cable movie, Outbreak, sparked his interest in pathogens and public health. With the goal of less foodborne illness, his group designs, implements, and evaluates food safety strategies, messages, and media from farm-to-fork. Through reality-based research, Chapman investigates behaviors and creates interventions aimed at amateur and professional food handlers, managers, and organizational decision-makers; the gate keepers of safe food. Ben co-hosts a biweekly podcast called Food Safety Talk and tries to further engage folks online through Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and, maybe not surprisingly, Pinterest. Follow on Twitter @benjaminchapman.