Cheese recalled after it was linked to illness

UPDATE - April 4, 2014, CDC issued Notes from Field report.


Whole Foods is recalling Crave Brothers Les Frères cheese in response to a recall issued by the manufacturer, Crave Brothers, when their cheese was linked with 5 illnesses and one death.

 According to the company website, the type of cheese, Les Freres, is a semi-soft cheese.  

(http://www.cravecheese.com/our-cheese.php?Cheesecyclopedia-5)

Description
This European style farmstead cheese was developed with great care to reflect the Crave Brothers' Irish-French heritage. This one-of-a-kind washed-rind cheese has an earthy, mushroomy, fruity flavor and a creamy texture that is softer than Brie and has a nutty aftertaste. It is available in a small version-- Le Petit Frère®.

Appearance
It has a light-colored paste that does not become too runny, and holds its shape well.

Texture
Semi-soft.

Flavor
It is a rich, rind washed cheese with an earthy, fruity flavor. It has just a mildly mushroomy appeal.

The product sold at Whole Foods was packaged pre-cut wedges. Crave Brothers is also recalling - Les Frères (LF225 2/2.5#) with a make date of 7-1-13 or prior, packaged in white plastic with a green and gold label; Petit Frère (PF88 8/8 oz) with a make date of 7-1-13 or prior, packaged in small round wooden boxes; and Petit Frère with Truffles (PF88T 8/8 oz) with a make date of 7-1-13 or prior, packaged in small round wooden boxes.

FDA News Release
Whole Foods Market Recalls Cheese Because of Possible Health Riskhttp://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm359697.htm
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - July 5, 2013 -Whole Foods Market announces that it is recalling Crave Brothers Les Frères cheese in response to a recall by the Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese Company of Waterloo, Wisconsin. The cheese is being recalled because it has the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women. To date, one illness and one death have been reported. Crave Brothers was informed by regulatory agencies of an ongoing investigation related to potential health risks associated with Listeria monocytogenes. The company immediately ceased the production and distribution of the products.

The recalled Crave Brothers Les Frères cheese was cut and packaged in clear plastic wrap and sold with Whole Foods Market scale labels. Below is a list of how the cheese was labeled, including PLU code, according to the state in which it was sold.

State	Labeled as	PLU
Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas	Les Frères	299682
Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, New Mexico, Utah	Crave Brothers Les Frères	299682
Florida	Les Frères Wash Rind Product of USA	294473
Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey (stores in Marlton and Princeton only), Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, Washington D.C.	Crave Bros Les Frères	294473
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Wisconsin	Crave Brothers Les Frères Cheese by Pound	294473
Oregon, Washington	Les Frères Crave Brothers	294473
Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee	Les Frères Crave Brothers PO-RK	294473

Signage is posted in Whole Foods Market stores to notify customers of this recall. Customers who have purchased this product from Whole Foods Market should discard it, and may bring in their receipt for a full refund. Questions about this can be directed to 512-477-5566 ext. 20060, Monday-Friday from 8 am to 5 pm CDT. Consumers with questions about Crave Brothers cheese may contact the company directly: Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese Company at 920-478-4887, Monday-Friday from 8 am to 5 pm CDT.


Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese Recalls Les Frères Cheese Products
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm359621.htm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – July 3, 2013 – WATERLOO, WI - Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese Company is issuing a voluntary recall for three specialty cheese products while regulatory agencies continue a multi-state investigation of Listeria monocytogenes. This organism can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.

The products recalled are:


Les Frères (LF225 2/2.5#) with a make date of 7-1-13 or prior, packaged in white plastic with a green and gold label.
Petit Frère (PF88 8/8 oz) with a make date of 7-1-13 or prior, packaged in small round wooden boxes.
Petit Frère with Truffles (PF88T 8/8 oz) with a make date of 7-1-13 or prior, packaged in small round wooden boxes.

These products were distributed nationwide through retail and foodservice outlets as well as by mail orders.

Crave Brothers was informed by regulatory agencies of an ongoing investigation related to potential health risks associated with Listeria monocytogenes. The company immediately ceased the production and distribution of the products.

"We are cooperating with the regulatory agencies' ongoing investigation of the cause of the potential health risks," said George Crave, president.

Consumers who have purchased any of these products are urged not to consume them. They can return the cheese to the place of purchase for a full refund or discard it. Consumers with questions may contact the company at 920-478-4887, Monday-Friday from 8 am to 5 pm.

CDC News Release
Multistate Outbreak of Listeriosis Linked to Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheeses

http://www.cdc.gov/listeria/outbreaks/cheese-07-13/index.html

Highlights

· Read the Advice to Consumers & Cheese Retailers»

· A total of five persons infected with the outbreak strain of Listeria monocytogenes have been reported from four states.

o The number of ill persons identified in each state is as follows: Illinois (1), Indiana (1), Minnesota (2), and Ohio (1).

o All five ill persons were hospitalized. One death was reported in Minnesota. One illness in a pregnant woman resulted in a miscarriage.

· A collaborative investigation by local and state public health and regulatory agencies, CDC, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration indicates that Les Frères, Petit Frère, and Petit Frère with Truffles cheeses made by Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese Company is the likely source of this outbreak.

· On July 3, 2013, Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese Company of Waterloo, Wisconsin voluntarily recalled its Les Frères, Petit Frère, and Petit Frère with Truffles cheeses with make dates of July 1, 2013 or earlier due to possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination.

o The recalled cheeses were distributed nationwide through retail and foodservice outlets as well as by mail orders.

· Consumers who purchased any of the recalled cheeses should not eat them and should throw away any remaining cheeses.

o This is especially important for pregnant women, older adults, and persons with weakened immune systems, who are at the highest risk for infection and serious outcomes.

· CDC will update the public on the progress of this investigation as information becomes available.


CDC - MMWR
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6313a5.htm?s_cid=mm6313a5_e
Notes from the Field: Multistate Outbreak of Listeriosis Linked to Soft-Ripened Cheese — United States, 2013
Weekly


April 4, 2014 / 63(13);294-295



Mary J. Choi, MD1,2, Kelly A. Jackson, MPH3, Carlota Medus, PhD1, Jennifer Beal, MPH4, Carrie E. Rigdon, PhD5, Tami C. Cloyd, DVM4, Matthew J. Forstner5, Jill Ball6, Stacy Bosch, DVM3, Lyndsay Bottichio, MPH7, Venessa Cantu, MPH8, David C. Melka9, Wilete Ishow10, Sarah Slette, MS11, Kari Irvin, MS4, Matthew Wise, PhD3, Cheryl Tarr, PhD3, Barbara Mahon, MD3, Kirk E. Smith, DVM, PhD1, Benjamin J. Silk, PhD3 (Author affiliations at end of text)

On June 27, 2013, the Minnesota Department of Health notified CDC of two patients with invasive Listeria monocytogenes infections (listeriosis) whose clinical isolates had indistinguishable pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns. A query of PulseNet, the national molecular subtyping network for foodborne disease surveillance, identified clinical and environmental isolates from other states. On June 28, CDC learned from the Food and Drug Administration's Coordinated Outbreak Response and Evaluation Network that environmental isolates indistinguishable from those of the two patients had been collected from Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese during 2010–2011. An outbreak-related case was defined as isolation of L. monocytogenes with the outbreak PFGE pattern from an anatomic site that is normally sterile (e.g., blood or cerebrospinal fluid), or from a product of conception, with an isolate upload date during May 20–June 28, 2013. As of June 28, five cases were identified in four states (Minnesota, two cases; Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, one each). Median age of the five patients was 58 years (range: 31–67 years). Four patients were female, including one who was pregnant at the time of infection. All five were hospitalized. One death and one miscarriage were reported.

Case–case analysis of Listeria Initiative* data (1) was conducted, comparing food exposure frequencies among the five outbreak-related cases identified by June 28 with food exposure frequencies in 1,735 sporadic listeriosis cases reported to CDC during 2004–2013. The analysis indicated that any soft cheese consumption during the month before illness onset was associated with outbreak-related listeriosis: five of five (100%) in the outbreak-related cases versus 569 of 1,735 (33%) in the sporadic cases (odds ratio = 10.8; 95% confidence interval = 1.8–∞).

The five patients were reinterviewed to assess their cheese exposures. All five patients had definitely or probably eaten one of three varieties of Crave Brothers soft-ripened cheese (Les Frères, Petit Frère, or Petit Frère with truffles). Three patients had purchased the cheese at three different restaurants, and two had purchased the cheese at two different grocery stores. The cheeses were shipped as intact wheels to the three restaurants and two grocery stores, where they had been cut and served or repackaged and sold to customers.

Testing at the Minnesota Department of Agriculture identified the outbreak pattern of L. monocytogenes in two cheese wedges (Les Frères and Petit Frère with truffles) collected from two different grocery stores in Minnesota. Inspection of the cheese-making facility revealed that substantial sanitation deficiencies during the cheese-making process itself, after the milk was pasteurized, likely led to contamination. On July 1, Crave Brothers halted production of Les Frères, Petit Frère, and Petit Frère with truffles. On July 3, Crave Brothers issued a voluntary recall of these products with a production date of July 1, 2013, or earlier. On July 11, the company voluntarily halted production of all cheese products manufactured at the facility. After product recall, one additional case was identified in Texas through whole genome sequencing, bringing the total case count for the outbreak to six.

This outbreak was linked to soft cheeses that were likely contaminated during the cheese-making process (2,3). Pasteurization eliminates Listeria in milk. However, contamination can occur after pasteurization. Cheese-making facilities should use strict sanitation and microbiologic monitoring, regardless of whether they use pasteurized milk.†

Persons at greater risk for listeriosis, including older adults, pregnant women, and those with immunocompromising conditions, should be aware that certain soft cheeses made with unpasteurized milk, or made under unsanitary conditions, regardless of whether the milk was pasteurized, have been shown to cause severe illness. These soft cheeses include fresh (unripened) cheeses, such as queso fresco (4), and soft-ripened cheeses, such as the cheeses implicated in this outbreak.




1Minnesota Department of Health; 2EIS officer; 3Div of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, CDC; 4Coordinated Outbreak Response and Evaluation Network, Food and Drug Administration; 5Minnesota Department of Agriculture; 6Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection; 7Ohio Department of Health; 8Texas Department of State Health Services; 9Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration; 10Chicago Department of Public Health; 11Indiana State Department of Health (Corresponding author: Mary J. Choi, mjchoi@cdc.gov, 651-201-5193)
References
McCollum JT, Cronquist AB, Silk BJ, et al. Multistate outbreak of listeriosis associated with cantaloupe. N Engl J Med 2013;369:944–53.
CDC. Vital signs: Listeria illnesses, deaths, and outbreaks—United States, 2009–2011. MMWR 2013;62:448–52.
CDC. Multistate outbreak of listeriosis linked to imported Frescolina Marte brand ricotta salata cheese (final update). Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2012. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/listeria/outbreaks/cheese-09-12/index.html.
CDC. Outbreak of listeriosis associated with homemade Mexican-style cheese—North Carolina, October 2000–January 2001. MMWR 2001;50:560–2.