Listeria death confirmed as cheese recalled
Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese Company of Waterloo, Wisconsin recalled three of its products last week.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said the products were distributed nationwide through retail and foodservice outlets and by mail orders.
Crave Brothers was informed by regulatory agencies of an ongoing investigation related to potential health risks associated with Listeria monocytogenes and has ceased the production and distribution of the products.
Five people sick
The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said five people infected with the outbreak strain of Listeria monocytogenes have been reported from four states.
The ill people identified in each state are: Illinois (1), Indiana (1), Minnesota (2), and Ohio (1).
All five ill persons were hospitalized. One death was reported in Minnesota and one illness in a pregnant woman resulted in a miscarriage, said the CDC.
Public health investigators are using DNA “fingerprints” of Listeria obtained through testing with pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) to identify cases of illness that may be part of this outbreak.
Initial findings
The available data shows dates that illness was diagnosed range from 20 May to 17 June.
Ill persons range in age from 31 years to 67 years, with a median age of 58 years, and 80% are female.
Recalled products are: Les Frères with a make date of 7-1-13 or prior, packaged in white plastic with a green and gold label, Petit Frère with a date of 7-1-13 or prior, packaged in small round wooden boxes and Petit Frère with Truffles with a date of 7-1-13 or prior, also packaged in boxes.
The products were distributed nationwide through retail and foodservice outlets and by mail orders.
About 800 laboratory-confirmed cases of listeriosis are reported each year in the US, and typically three or four outbreaks are identified and reported to CDC annually, said the agency.
“We are cooperating with the regulatory agencies’ ongoing investigation of the cause of the potential health risks,” said George Crave, president.
