Brie, baked brie, and camembert cheeses made by Old Europe Cheese, Inc. of Benton Harbor, Michigan, are being voluntarily recalled across multiple states due to potential health risks caused by contamination with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in newborns, young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.
Pregnant women are especially at risk from Listeria since the bacteria infection can cause premature birth, miscarriage, or loss of pregnancy as well as the death of a newborn.
The recalled cheese is sold under the following brand names:
- Black Bear
- Block & Barrel
- Charmant
- Cobblestone
- Culinary Tour
- Fredericks
- Fresh Thyme
- Glenview Farms
- Good & Gather
- Heinen’s
- Joan of Arc
- La Bonne Vie
- Lidl
- Life in Provence
- Market 32
- Matrie’d
- Metropolitan
- Prestige
- Primo Taglio
- Red Apple Cheese
- Reny Picot
- St. Louis
- St. Randeaux
- St. Rocco
- Taste of Inspiration
- Trader Joe
The recalled cheeses were sold at stores nationwide and in Mexico including:
- Albertsons
- Giant Foods
- Lidl
- Stop & Shop
- Whole Foods
- And many more
See the full list of stores that received recalled cheeses, according to the CDC. The “best-by” dates are from September 28, 2022, to December 14, 2022. For questions about recalled cheese, contact Old Europe Cheese at 269-925-5003 ext. 335.
The recalled cheeses were distributed to 80 stores across these states:
- Alabama
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- New Hampshire
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
Who Is Most at Risk from Listeria?
Listeria is a foodborne bacterial illness that can be extremely serious for pregnant women, anyone over the age of 65, and anyone with a weakened immune system, according to the Mayo Clinic. It’s most commonly caused by eating improperly processed deli meats and unpasteurized milk products.
Healthy people rarely become ill from listeria infection, but the disease can be fatal to unborn babies, newborns, and people with weakened immune systems. Prompt antibiotic treatment can help curb the effects of listeria infection.
Listeria bacteria can survive refrigeration and even freezing. So people who are at higher risk of serious infections and pregnant women should avoid eating the types of food most likely to contain listeria bacteria. When do you usually start to have symptoms? That depends.
How Do You Get Listeria?
Listeriosis is most often caused by eating food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes which can develop in dairy such as cheese that is made from unpasteurized milk.
The most frequent outbreaks in the 1990s were from deli meats and hot dogs, however, more recently Listeria outbreaks have been linked to dairy products and produce. Investigators have traced recent outbreaks to soft cheeses, celery, sprouts, cantaloupe, and ice cream.
