Gouda Cheese Recalled for Potential Listeria Contamination

Smith’s Country Cheese of Winchendon, MA, is recalling 21 wheels of Waxed Gouda because it has the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The Waxed Gouda wheels were distributed in Massachusetts by wholesale distributors and further sold to retail stores.

The wheels are coated in red wax and wrapped in transparent wrap with various weights of whole wheels at 10 lbs. and half-wheels at 5 lbs. They may have been cut and packaged at retail level for consumer-size units.

There are labels on the front that read Smith’s Farmstead Gouda for whole wheels and Mountain Gouda for half-wheels. On the back of the wheel there is a weight label with a Julian date in the lower-right-hand corner that reads 4037.

No illnesses have been reported to date.

The recall was the result of a routine sampling by FDA, which revealed that the finished products contained the bacteria.

Consumers who have purchased Smith’s Farmstead Gouda waxed wheels are urged not to consume them and to return them to Smith’s Country Cheese Inc. at 20 Otter River Rd., Winchendon, MA, 01475, for a full refund. Consumers with questions may contact Smith’s Country Cheese Inc. at 1-800-700-9974, Monday through Friday, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. EST.

Listeria is 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.

from Food Safety News » Food Recalls http://ift.tt/1qIShCG