Whole Foods Listeria Recall: Whole Foods in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine and New York Issues Recall of Soft-Rind Raw Milk Cheeses
Listeria is a risk whenever consuming raw milk products, and hence the sale of raw milk is highly regulated throughout the U.S. It is also a primary ingredient in many cheeses, including soft-rind cheese sold at Whole Foods. Vulto Creamery, a supplier of soft-rind cheeses to Whole Foods, issued a recall after testing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found Listeria in certain of its cheeses, including Ouleout and Miranda cheese, were contaminated with Listeria.
Who is Vulto and what are Ouleout and Miranda Cheeses?
Vulto is owned by Jon Vulto, originally from Holland, who started making hand-crafted cheeses in his own home in Brooklyn. He started a small cheese production in Walton, Jew York, in a location in Catskills.
Vulto produces a number of cheeses in its New York facility from raw milk produced by New Jersey grass-fed cows, including washed-rind cow’s milk cheese called Ouleout (pronounced OH-lee-out). The cheese has a signature orange rind, a strong scent, and it notably “fudgy and gooey.” According to Vulto, the cheese is “pungent and meaty with briny and savory notes and a paste that becomes softer and more gooey as it ripens.” According to some, it is similar to Reblochon, the French Aline cheese made from raw cow’s milk.
“Miranda” cheese is also part of the recall. It is one of Jon Vulto’s signature cheeses and named after his late wife. It is a “small rosy button of cheese” that is washed in absinthe, an anise-flavored high-alcohol spirit made from various botanicals, including the flowers and leaves of Artemisia absinthium, green anise, sweet fennel, and other herbs.
Vultos also sells Walton Umber, Andes, Miranda and Hamden cheeses.
Vulto’s names more than a dozen local distributors, including the Bedford Cheese Shop in Brooklyn, the Astoria Bier and Cheese in Astoria, the Cheese Traveler in Albany, and the Fairfield Cheese Company in Fairfield, CT. Vultos cheeses were also sold in at least 9 Whole Food stores in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine and New York.
For more information about the Whole Foods Listeria Recall, call 1-888-335-4901 to speak to a Listeria lawyer.
