Cheese sold at Aldi, Market Basket recalled due to listeria concerns

Soft cheese sold at retail stores such as Aldi and Market Basket is being recalled due to what the federal government says is possible listeria contamination that came from equipment used to produce the dairy product at a facility in Illinois.

The Food and Drug Administration issued a notice Friday announcing the recall of products from Pennsylvania-based manufacturer Savencia Cheese USA.

The company said investigators discovered traces of listeria, a deadly bacteria, in equipment used to make cheese at its Lena, Illinois, plant.

Several products, including Emporium Selection Brie, La Bonne Vie Brie, La Bonne Vie Camembert and Market Basket Brie, are at risk of listeria contamination, according to the FDA notice.

Aldi published its own statement announcing the recall. The retailer said the affected products had a best-before date of December 24.

The company said the recall was done “out of an abundance of caution.”

“Aldi puts the safety and integrity of the products it sells first.

The agency also issued a separate recall of turkey sandwiches that also contained recalled cheese made by Savencia Cheese USA.

The FDA said CIBUS Fresh, a Noblesville, Indiana-based company, is recalling CF/ Autumn Turkey Sandwiches, J&O Autumn Turkey Sandwich and S&S Autumn Turkey Sandwich.

The recall is due to possible listeria contamination of the Glenview Farms spreadable brie used in the sandwiches.

The affected products have been removed from shelves at retailers in six states – Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Ohio and Tennessee.

The recalls are the latest incidents to raise concerns about food safety among American consumers in recent weeks.

Last month, McDonald’s temporarily suspended sales of its Quarter Pounder sandwiches at thousands of its restaurants in 10 states after regulators said the onions used in the burgers were the source of E. coli contamination.

At least 75 people have become ill due to E. coli contamination – 22 of whom had to be hospitalized.

Around the same time, Oklahoma-based meatpacker BrucePac recalled nearly 10 million pounds of ready-to-eat beef and poultry products over concerns they were contaminated with listeria.

Boar’s Head, the deli meat maker, has closed a massive plant in Virginia that was believed to be the source of a listeria outbreak that affected millions of pounds of product pulled from stores.

At least 10 deaths have been reported in Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, Florida, Tennessee, New Mexico and South Carolina.

The outbreak resulted in 59 people being hospitalized in 19 states.