Listeria - At Commercial Cheese Makers

[Cheese Head]

FDA moves to shut down listeria-tainted cheese facility

By Caroline Scott-Thomas, 05-Jan-2010

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has said it intends to close down a New Jersey cheese maker in the wake of listeria contamination and an alleged failure to correct unsanitary conditions at the plant.

Quesos Mi Pueblito manufactures and distributes soft, semi-soft and hard Mexican cheeses to grocery stores and supermarkets in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Florida, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

The FDA filed a complaint in the US District Court in Newark on Monday alleging that Quesos Mi Pueblito has failed to correct unsanitary conditions that were flagged up during inspections and that investigators found listeria contamination at the plant during inspections in August, September, October and November. The FDA’s complaint follows a three-year attempt by the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services to help the company rid its facility of listeria monocytogenes bacteria.

Quesos Mi Pueblito issued a recall of 13 of its cheeses in August after health officials found listeria contamination during sample testing but the company has allegedly continued to produce listeria-tainted cheese.

The FDA has requested that the company and two of its officers, Felix Sanchez and Jesus Galvez, are prevented from manufacturing and distributing food until their Passaic, New Jersey facility complies with FDA food safety regulations and they “produce cheese that does not test positive for the presence of listeria.”

No one at the company was available for comment prior to publication.

The FDA’s acting associate commissioner for regulatory affairs Michael Chappell said: “FDA’s work with federal and state partners to root out or remedy food manufacturers not compliant with food safety laws ensures safer foods get to our dinner tables."

Food contaminated with listeria monocytogenes bacteria can cause listeriosis, which has been recognized as a serious public health problem in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its figures show that around 2,500 people become seriously ill with listeriosis each year and 500 die.

[Cheese Head]

Prolactal “deeply shocked” by listeria cheese deaths

By Guy Montague-Jones, 17-Feb-2010

Austrian and German health authorities have revealed that six people died last year after eating listeria contaminated cheese made by Prolactal.

Four of the deaths occurred in Austria, where the health ministry said this week that its research had narrowed down the source of the cases to Prolactal’s acid curd cheese. German health authorities have also confirmed that two people died after contracting listeriosis from cheese made by the dairy company.

Reacting to the announcements, Prolactal, which is owned by Artax Group, said its executive management is “deeply shocked” by the cases.

Product recall

When the correlation between Prolactal cheese and the listeriosis cases first arose in January this year, Prolactal initiated a complete product recall throughout Europe.

The cheeses “Reinhardshof, Harzer Käse, 200g” and “Reinhardshof, Bauernkäse mit Edelschimmel, 200g”, which were stocked in Lidl supermarkets, were removed from shelves at the end of January.

Investigation

Austrian health authorities said a painstaking investigation involving investigators trawling through old shopping receipts was necessary to establish the link between the cheeses and the listeriosis cases.

Prolactal has stopped production at its Hartberg site in Styria. The plant will remain closed until the causes have been full clarified. An examination into the causal links between the listeria monocytogenes found in the cheese and the occurrences of illness is still ongoing.

Prolactal, which had sales revenues of €65m in 2007, said it has never experienced events with “even the vaguest similarity” in the 50 years that it has been producing acid curd cheese.

The Austrian health authorities said a total of 45 cases of listeria related illness were reported last year in the country, 11 of which resulted in death.

Listeria is a bacterium that can contaminate a range of foodstuffs including from plants to meats and dairy products, cause listeriosis in humans. The Austrian health ministry said the disease, which causes headaches, vomiting, and fever, can be particularly dangerous for the elderly. Around one in four cases result in death.

[DeejayDebi]

Sure am glad I don't have to buy cheese!

[wharris]

I wonder how many folks died from cheese-borne illnesses  back in the "good old days"
How sad.


(I think I'm gonna go starsan my gear, just because, after reading that .....)