Whole Foods voluntarily recalls Blue Cheese over Listeria concerns (Photo : Facebook/Whole Foods)
Whole Foods, the Texas-based upscale American supermarket chain that is known to sell organic food, recently issued a notice of recall for some of the blue cheese products that are being sold in their stores. The announcement was publicized on Tuesday, March 1.
The voluntary recall of Maytag Raw Milk Blue Cheese stemmed from possible contamination from listeria monocytogenes. This was discovered after testings of the said blue cheese brand revealed that it contain the infectious bacteria.
When the result of the testings were released, Whole Foods immediately ordered a recall "out of an abundance of caution," according to the company's spokeswoman Liz Burkhart.
"At Whole Foods Market, customer safety comes first. All Maytag Raw Milk Blue Cheese product has been removed from store shelves and destroyed," she further told CNBC. Burkhart also added that their stores posted signage to inform shoppers about the issue.
On the other hand, Maytag Dairy Farms also opted to stop its production while the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the state of Iowa are figuring out how the cheeses got tainted with the harmful bacteria.
Nevertheless, the temporary suspension of Maytag's products distribution in all Whole Food Markets will be in effect until the source or reason for the contamination is known. Fortunately, there are no reports of illnesses resulting from consumption of the affected blue cheeses.
The recalled cheeses bear the label "Maytag Blue Raw Milk" and "Maytag Iowa Blue Cheese." The contaminated batches have "sold by" dates of Jan. 20, 2016 to March 21, 2016 and with PLU numbers starting with 293308.
Meanwhile, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), listeria should not be taken lightly since it can be severe and sometimes even fatal especially to the elderly, children and those with weak immune system.
The common symptoms listed for the infection brought about by the Listeria monocytogenes organism include high fever, diarrhea, nausea, severe headache, abdominal pains and stiffness. CDC also stressed that the infection is dangerous for pregnant women as it can lead to miscarriages and stillbirths.
Lastly, Whole Foods advised their customers to disposed the blue cheeses they bought and they will give refunds to buyers who will bring receipts to any WF stores nearby.
Watch the report on Whole Foods recall of products below:
