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WA Creamery Recalls More Cheese

By Dan Flynn and Suzanna Schreck

2010 has not started out as a good year for the Estrella Family Creamery in Montesano, WA.

The 164-acre dairy farm located in Southeast Washington State in the past has won awards for cheese making at a world level.  Lately, it's been involved not in award contests, but one recall after another.

It began with a recall of just its Red Darla cheese on Feb. 13.

Then the recall was expanded to include Brewleggio, Domino, and Wynoochee River Blue cheeses in addition to the Red Darla.

Now it spent the last weekend recalling a production of Old Apple Tree Tomme cheese because it may be contaminated with Listeria.

The Old Apple Tree Tomme cheese was sold at the Ballard and U-District farmer's markets in Seattle, Washington, and the firm's farm store the weekend of Feb. 27 and 28, 2010.

The recalled cheese was sold by custom order at the markets and the firm's farm store, with a label bearing its name. The product does not contain a lot code.

So far, there have been no illnesses reported that are connected to any of the recalled Estrella cheeses.

The recall is the result of continued sampling by the Washington State Department of Agriculture, which revealed that one wheel of the finished product contained Listeria monocytogenes bacteria.

Listeria monocytogenes is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections.  Symptoms include high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea.

Listeria infection can also cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.

Full post as published by Food Safety News on March 09, 2010 (boomark / email).