Sophelise, Tobasi, Feta and Berkshire Bloom cheeses are recalled: Listeria monocytogenes bacteria possible due to processing error.
Cricket Creek Farm is recalling four of their cheeses, because two of them, the Sophelise and the Tobasi, are potentially contaminated with listeria monocytogenes, and the other two, the Berkshire Bloom cheese and the Feta cheese were recalled because they did not reach the heating requirements in order to ensure the cheeses were safe.
Product labels for the Tobasi Cheese read 315, 341, and 048. It is a washed, raw milk cheese with a creamy interior. It has an orange rind. The Cricket Creek Farm brand is wrapped in clear packaging and has a gray and orange label. When sold in grocery stores, it is a square shape, measured to be 8”x8”, and 1.25 inches tall. Between the dates of March 26, 2023, and May 26, 2023, these batches were distributed.
The Sophelise cheese had a product label of 087055. It is a washed, pasteurized milk cheese. It has a pink hue with a soft rind. It is round with a diameter of 4 inches. The cheese is about 1 inch tall. The packaging is semi-transparent with a blue label. The cheese was distributed between the dates March 29, 2023, and May 26, 2023.
The Berkshire Bloom cheese was labeled 076 and is a camembert style, bloomy rind cheese. It has a 4 inch diameter and is around 1.25 inches tall. It is wrapped in white cheese paper with a blue label. This batch of cheese was distributed between the dates of April 20, 2023, and May 12, 2023.
The Feta cheese has a product label of 101097. It is pasteurized feta, in 8oz or 16oz packages. They are square packages with orange labels. The cheese was distributed to grocery stores and restaurants in the same packages. This batch of cheese was distributed between the dates of April 12, 2023, and April 25, 2023.
According to the FDA, common symptoms of listeria monocytogenes can include fever, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. If the listeriosis becomes more severe, it can lead to headaches, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and convulsions. The symptoms can be much more severe for children under the age of 3, people older than 60, and people with weakened immune systems. Extreme symptoms might include death.
One National Food Poisoning Lawyer said, when asked about the issue, “some soft cheese is a common source of food poisoning, due to the fact that it is sometimes made with raw milk and often unpasteurized.”
