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Listeria Prompts Appetizer Recall

By Dan Flynn and Suzanna Schreck

Cheese is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration but a "meat and cheese roll appetizer product" is under the purview of USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).
So it was FSIS doing microbiological sampling that discovered Listeria contamination at New Haven's Calabro Cheese, causing the Connecticut company to recall 57 pounds of its meat and cheese roll called Rotolini.
The specific product is:

•  8-ounce packages of "CALABRO All Natural ROTOLINI Mozzarella & Prosciutto."  The packages also bear a white sticker with the lot number "3190" and establishment number "34051M" inside the USDA mark of inspection.

It was produced on Nov. 15 and distributed to warehouse and retail outlets in Boston and Springfield in Massachusetts and Westport, CT.  USDA said none of the product was purchased for the National School Lunch Program.
No illnesses have yet been associated with the contaminated cheese.
FSIS routinely conducts recall-effectiveness checks to verify that recalling firms notify their customers of the recall and that steps are taken to make certain the product is no longer available to consumers.
Consumption of food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes can cause listeriosis, an uncommon but potentially fatal disease. 
Listeriosis can cause high fever, severe headache, neck stiffness and nausea.  Listeriosis can also cause miscarriages and stillbirths, as well as serious and sometimes fatal infections in those with weakened immune systems, such as infants, the elderly and persons with HIV infection or undergoing chemotherapy.

Full post as published by Food Safety News on November 24, 2010 (boomark / email).