Earlier this summer, the Allegheny County Health Department and Whole Foods Market announced that Jean Perrin Edel de Cleron cheese sold in the East Liberty Whole Foods Market store in Pennsylvania was being recalled because some samples tested positive for listeria. The recalled cheese was cut and packaged in clear plastic wrap with a Whole Foods Market scale label, and a code beginning with 293351. The recalled cheese was sold between May 20 and July 3, 2012. The recall was prompted after a 69-year-old Westmoreland County man grew seriously ill from listeriosis. The man fell ill June 7 and was hospitalized after eating Jean Perrin Edel de Cleron cheese — a soft, pasteurized cow’s milk French cheese that sells for about $25 a pound.
Then this last week Whole Foods Market announced that it is recalling ricotta salata sold in 21 states and Washington, D.C. that came from its supplier Forever Cheese Inc. of Long Island City, NY. Forever Cheese recalled this cheese product because it may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The recalled Ricotta Salata Frescolina brand cheese was cut into wedges, packaged in clear plastic wrap and sold with a Whole Foods Market scale label using PLU 293427. All “sell by” dates through Oct. 2 are affected. Fourteen illnesses have been reported which may be associated with the Frescolina recall.
According to the CDC, as of September 11, 2012, a total of 14 persons infected with the outbreak strain of Listeria monocytogenes have been reported from 11 states and the District of Columbia. The number of ill persons identified in each state is as follows: California (1), Colorado (1), District of Columbia (1), Maryland (3), Minnesota (1), Nebraska (1), New Jersey (1), New Mexico (1), New York (1), Ohio (1), Pennsylvania (1), and Virginia (1). All 14 ill persons have been hospitalized. Three deaths have been reported. Listeriosis contributed to at least one of these deaths. These illnesses have been linked to Ricotta Salata Frescolina, however, it is unclear how many of the ill purchased the cheese at Whole Foods.