Whole Foods Market in Austin, Texas has recently announced a national recall of Maytag Raw Milk Blue Cheese because of possible Listeria contamination.
Listeria monocytogenes is a bacterium which causes serious infection. It primarily affects older adults, pregnant women, newborns, and adults with weakened immune system. Healthy children and adults may also be infected but they rarely become seriously ill. Symptoms of Listeria infection include fever, muscle aches, headache, loss of balance, confusion, and diarrhea.
For pregnant women, it can cause miscarriage, still birth, premature delivery, or other life threatening infection to the new born. For diagnosing if you have listerosis, the CDC website provides, "If you become very sick with fever and muscle aches or stiff neck, or if you develop fever and chills while pregnant, consult your doctor immediately. A blood or spinal fluid test (to look for bacteria) will show if you have listerosis."
Whole Foods has stated that "the potential for contamination was discovered after testing by the State of Iowa revealed the presence of Listeria monocytogenes in two lots of product." Whole Foods also said in their statement that Maytag Dairy Farms has voluntarily suspended production and distribution while the company collaborated with Food and Drug Administration and the State of Iowa to determine the cause of the problem.
As of the release of their statement on their website on 01 March 2016, no reports of an infection have been made yet. Liz Burkhart, spokesperson for Whole Foods tells CNBC that the recall was done "out of an abundance of caution."
Burkhart adds, "At Whole Foods Market, customer safety comes first. All Maytag Raw Milk Blue Cheese product has been removed from store shelves and destroyed, and in-store signage has been posted to inform customers."
Whole Foods advise their customers to who have purchased the product to discard it. The customers may also bring their receipt into the store for a full refund.
