Rizo Lopez Foods has issued a recall for certain cheese, yogurt, and sour cream products due to Listeria monocytogenes contamination

Dairy Recall: Dozens of Cheese, Yogurt, Sour Cream Products Linked to Listeria Outbreak So far, 26 people have gotten sick from recalled products; two have died

Rizo Lopez Foods has issued a recall for certain cheese, yogurt, and sour cream products due to Listeria monocytogenes contamination

• Rizo Lopez Foods has issued a recall for certain cheese, yogurt, and sour cream products due to Listeria monocytogenes contamination.
• So far, 26 people have gotten sick from recalled products; two have died.
• People with the recalled products should dispose of them immediately.

Multiple Rizo Lopez Foods dairy products have been recalled due to Listeria monocytogenes contamination.

The recall, which was issued by Rizo Lopez Foods on Monday, is linked to two deaths and more than two dozen illnesses across the country, government officials said.

Cheese, yogurt, and sour cream included in the recall are sold under the following brand names:

• 365 Whole Foods Market
• Tio Francisco
• Don Franciso
• Rizo Bros
• Rio Grande
• Food City
• El Huache
• La Ordena
• San Carlos
• Campesino
• Santa Maria
• Dos Ranchitos
• Casa Cardena

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has a full list of all of the impacted products, along with photos of the packages, UPC numbers, and sell-by dates.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), these foods are linked to a nationwide Listeria monocytogenes outbreak that spans back to 2014.

Listeria monocytogenes is a bacterium that can cause a serious infection known as listeriosis. An estimated 1,600 people get listeriosis each year, and about 260 die from the infection.

Listeriosis can cause an intestinal illness, with symptoms like diarrhea and vomiting, or it can lead to an invasive illness that causes symptoms like fever, flu-like symptoms, headache, stiff neck, and seizures.

Pregnant people, newborns, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems are likely to have more severe side effects. Listeriosis can also lead to stillbirth, miscarriage, or premature delivery in pregnant people, along with life-threatening infection of the newborn.

"While infected pregnant women may experience only mild, flu-like symptoms, their infections can be passed on to the unborn child," Darin Detwiler, LPD, MAEd, an associate teaching professor at Northeastern University and author of Food Safety: Past, Present, and Predictions, told Health.

He explained that it can take up to 70 days after exposure to Listeria for symptoms of listeriosis to develop, which can make it difficult to track down where the exposure might've come from.

“Most people have a hard time remembering what they ate one week ago—imagine trying to remember what you ate two months ago," Detwiler said.

According to the CDC, the Listeria monocytogenes outbreak associated with the Rizo Lopez recall began in June 2014 and was investigated from 2017 to 2021. Previous investigations identified queso fresco and similar cheeses as a potential outbreak source but couldn’t identify a specific brand.

The investigation was reopened in January after new illnesses were reported. The strain of listeria linked to the outbreak was found in a cheese sample from Rizo Lopez Foods.

Overall, 26 people have been infected with listeria tied to this outbreak across 11 states. Of those, 23 were hospitalized and two people died.

CDC officials noted that the outbreak is likely even larger, given that not everyone who has listeriosis symptoms seeks testing and medical care for the condition.

The CDC is urging anyone who has these products to avoid eating, selling, or serving them. The organization recommends people check their refrigerators and freezers for any of the impacted products and dispose of them immediately.

Since listeria can survive in the fridge and sometimes spread to other foods and surfaces, it's also a good idea to sanitize the fridge after removing recalled products.

Detwiler stressed the importance of listening to the recall advice, given how serious listeriosis can be.

“Anyone who has these products in their kitchen should either throw them away or return them to the place where they purchased them,” he said. "If you have eaten any of the recalled products, look for symptoms, including vomiting, nausea, persistent fever, muscle aches, severe headache, and neck stiffness."

This story originally appeared on: Health News - Author:Korin Miller