Personal Injury Law

Bravo also recalls Cheese due to Listeria

By Marler Clark

From Oregonian and Los Angeles Times reports. An artisan cheese maker in California linked to a multi-state outbreak of E. coli is recalling all of its cheese after Listeria was found at its plant. Bravo Farms, which specializes in raw-milk cheese, sells Gouda, pepper jack, Tulare Cannonball and cheddar cheese at stores mainly on the West Coast but also elsewhere in the country. This month its Dutch Style Gouda sold in about 50 Costco stores was pulled after it was linked to an outbreak of E. coli.

Whole Foods Market announces that one of its suppliers, Bravo Farms of Traver, California, has issued a voluntary recall due to evidence of Listeria and E. coli contamination at their plant. Bravo's products at Whole Foods Market stores in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington are part of this recall since they were cut and packaged in clear plastic wrap and sold with a 'Distributed by Whole Foods Market' sticker.  All of the following products are included in this recall:

* Sage Cheddar

* Silver Mountain Cheddar

* Chipotle Cheddar

* Premium Block Cheddar

* Premium White Chunk Cheddar

* Chipotle Chunk Cheddar

* White Black Wax Cheddar

At least 37 people have been sickened in that outbreak in Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fifteen people were hospitalized and one person suffered kidney failure.

California health inspectors investigating the outbreak then found Listeria in the company's facility in Traver, Calif., south of Fresno.

The bacteria can cause gastrointestinal problems and miscarriages or stillbirths in pregnant women. Unlike E. coli O157:H7, which can turn up in raw milk through contamination with fecal matter, Listeria is not usually a problem in the milk itself but can pose a cross-contamination risk if it's present in the environment.

Listeria is a difficult bug to get rid of, according Bill Marler, a Seattle lawyer specializing in food-borne-illness cases.

Full post as published by Listeria Blog on November 26, 2010 (boomark / email).