On June, 30, 2020, Garland Ventures Ltd., a company based in Garland, Texas, voluntarily recalled nearly 1100 cases of their “Five Cheese Stuffed Shells”, due to the concern for possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. Listeria monocytogenes are a type of bacteria which can cause serious gastrointestinal illness known as Listeriosis. The illness is typically propagated by the consumption of food or drink which is contaminated with the bacteria. Symptoms, such as headache, fever, and nausea, usually present themselves within 1-4 weeks within exposure, however, some people have reported that symptoms have taken as short as 1 day and others, as long as 70 days to appear after exposure. Listeriosis can be particularly dangerous for expectant mothers as the infection can spread to the child through the uterus and sometimes cause miscarriage.
Garland Ventures’ recalled products were distributed to a limited number of retail stores around the country. The products of concern are the “Five Cheese Stuffed Shells” packaged in 10.76 ounce foil tins with clear lids printed with the lot# F080SS/F090SS below the label. The package also contains marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, and parsley. An image of the product’s packaging can be viewed here.
The possible contamination was first discovered by a third party testing laboratory when Listeria monocytogenes were detected in some of the samples of the “Five Cheese Stuffed Shells”. When Garland Ventures was notified about the contamination, all further production and distribution of the product was halted immediately.
There have been no reported adverse effects due to the consumption of this product to date.
Anyone in possession of the recalled product is urged to return it to its original place of purchase for a full refund.
