Vulto Creamery is now recalling all lots of the hand-crafted Heinennellie, Miranda, Willowemoc, Ouleout , Andes, Blue Blais, Hamden & Walton Umber cheeses produced at its Walton, NY facility. This follows reports of six illnesses requiring hospitalization, and two subsequent deaths, caused by consumption of Vulto cheese contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. Listeria is a potentially deadly bacteria that is especially dangerous in young children, older people, and can cause miscarriages and still births in pregnant women.
Vulto hand-crafted cheeses are made from raw milk from Jersey cows, and sold extensively in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic States, with Whole foods, and more than a dozen New York area retailers carrying the cheeses. According to an article published on Culturecheesemag.com, the supplier of the raw cheese is Rolling Ridge Dairy, in Delhi, NY. The hand-crafted soft-rind cheeses were also distributed Chicago, Washington, D.C., California, and Portland.
The most well-known of the Vulto soft-rind cheeses is Miranda, named after Jos Vulto’s late wife. It is a small washed rind cheese in a peachy-pink wheel that “resembles a corduroy tuffet.”
New York Department of Agriculture and Markets Identified Ouleout Cheese as Likely Source of Vulto Listeria Outbreak
The New York Department of Agriculture and Markets was the agency that broke the story, linking 6 illnesses and 2 deaths to a strain of Listeria found in Ouleout cheese. Since then, with the identification of two deaths, Vulto has expanded the recall to all of its raw milk cheeses, each made from raw milk at the Walton, New York facility.
All Production Ceased While FDA Investigates Source of Contamination
Jos Vulto, who began his business in his private residence in Brooklyn many years ago, announced on the company webpage: “Any wholesaler or distributor that has any of the eight Vulto Creamery cheeses should contact Vulto Creamery to receive instructions on what to do with the cheese. No recalled cheese should be destroyed until Vulto Creamery has been notified and agrees.”
For more information about the Vulto Listeria Outbreak, or Listeria lawsuits, call 1-888-35-4901.