Listeria can be a fatal disease in the elderly, young children and those with compromised immune systems, and symptoms can manifest as quickly as the same day a contaminated product is ingested, or even up to nearly two years later in some cases.
Common symptoms include diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and cold sweats – the usual for food-borne illnesses. The outbreak was linked to contaminated Cotija cheeses and products distributed by Rizo-Lopez Foods.
At least 26 people have fallen ill from consuming cheeses, crema and yogurt made by Rizo-Lopez Foods, with two deaths and 23 hospitalizations in 11 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (Related: CDC warns of LISTERIA outbreak in DAIRY products.)
The recall, which began with cheese and dairy products, has expanded to include ready-to-eat enchiladas, snacks, dips, dressings, wraps, salad and taco kits sold at major retailers including Amazon, Costco, Sprouts Farmers Market, Trader Joe's and Walmart.
The still-growing array of products impacted began on Jan. 11, when Rizo-Lopez Foods announced a nationwide recall of 344 cases of aged cotija Mexican grating cheese following the discovery of Listeria in a sample in Hawaii.
Less than four weeks later, in a notice published on Feb. 6 by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Modesto, California-based cheese and dairy company expanded its recall to include more than 60 yogurt, cheese and sour cream products sold nationwide, saying they might be a potential source of the Listeria monocytogenes outbreak.
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Since the first and then expanded recall, there have been 18 additional ones, including vending-machine sandwiches, salad and taco kits, dips and snacks sold by major retailers nationwide.
Listeria infecting people all over America
Eight people in California contracted Listeria. Four cases were recorded in Arkansas and Colorado. Two were found in Tennessee and Texas. One person each got sick in half a dozen other states: Florida, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon and Washington.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service is keeping a list of meat and poultry products that include the recalled cheese and may issue recall orders for some of these products.
Other companies have issued their own recalls. Fresh Express said it is recalling two kinds of salad kits with condiment packs that contained the recalled cheese. Other kinds of salad kits manufactured by Ready Pac Foods and sold at Costco, Walmart and Winco that reportedly contain Rizo-Lopez cheese have been recalled. The company said it manufactured 15,751 cases of the salad kits that contain potentially tainted cheeses.
BrightFarms of Irvington, New York, is recalling Southwest Chipotle salad kits with best-by-dates between Dec. 13, 2023, and Feb. 22, 2024, because they contain potentially tainted Cotija cheese.
Dole Fresh Vegetables is recalling Dole-branded and private-label salad kits such as President's Choice, processed on the same manufacturing line as the recalled cheese, due to the potential for cross-contamination. The salad products were sold in 25 states and five Canadian provinces, Dole said.
The investigation into the outbreak is ongoing. The latest addition to the recall is 768 units of chicken street taco kits that contain cheese ingredients in the rema cup supplied by Rizo-Lopez Foods.
Watch this news report of a doctor explaining what causes Listeria, its symptoms and how it is treated.
This video is from the Daily Videos channel on Brighteon.com.
More related stories:
CDC issues food safety alert over recalled fruits linked to LISTERIA outbreak.
Peaches, plums from HMC Farms recalled from grocery shelves due to listeria outbreak.
Food safety watchdogs issue warning over contaminated cheese; Brit dies amid listeria outbreak.
Prevent FOOD CONTAMINATION and food poisoning with these simple steps.
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