A nationwide recall of products containing cheese with a risk for listeria contamination continues to grow larger with salad kits and taco kits sold at stores including Albertsons, Costco, Walmart, and WinCo being removed from shelves.

Rizo-López Foods of Modesto, California, on Feb. 5 recalled dozens of dairy products including Queso Fresco and Cotija Cheese, because of the risk of contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. Those recalled products – including cheese, crema, yogurt, and sour cream – were sold nationwide under brand names such as 365 Whole Foods Market, Don Francisco and Tio Francisco, the company said in a press release. Stores carrying products initially affected included Harris Teeter and Whole Foods.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday issued notices that increased the list of products recalled because they contained cheese made by Rizo-López Foods to more than five dozen, including black bean dip and other products sold at Costco and Trader Joe's, and Amazon Kitchen-branded burritos.

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Then, late Friday and Saturday the FDA issued notifications of 10 additional food companies with voluntary recalls connected to the agency's ongoing investigation of the listeria outbreak. Those products included various salad kits and taco kits including those carrying the Dole brand, and were sold at stores including Albertson's, Carrs-Safeway, Costco, Eagle, Safeway, and Walmart. Home Chef also notified delivery customers via email that several meals – among them White Cheddar Pesto Mac and Cheese and Cherry Chipotle Brisket Tacos – may not have the cheese required for the dishes and advised them to discard the cheese if one of the specific meal kits did come with cheese.

What additional foods are being recalled for listeria risk?

These companies issued recalls of products that contained cheese supplied by Rizo-López Food or had the potential for cross-contamination from recalled cheese products:

• Albertsons Companies recalled Ready Meals Chicken Street Tacos, Ready Meals Chicken Street Tacos Meal Kit, Chicken Mini Street Tacos Meal Kit, Chicken Asada Street Taco Meal, and Ready Meals Asada Street Taco Meal (all sell thru dates up to and Feb. 10, 2024), which contained a recalled cheese ingredient supplied by Rizo-López Foods, and sold at stores including Albertsons, Carrs-Safeway, Eagle, Lucky, Pavilions, Randalls, Safeway, Shaw's, Star Market, Tom Thumb, and Vons in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Idaho, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington and Wyoming.
• Braga Fresh is recalling a limited quantity of Marketside Bacon Ranch Crunch Chopped Salad Kits containing recalled cheese (best-if-used-by dates Jan. 20, 2024 to Feb. 19, 2024) distributed to a limited number of Walmart stores in California and Nevada.
• BrightFarms, Inc. recalled Southwest Chipotle salad kits, which had Rizo-López Foods' Cotija Cheese in the kit (best-by-dates Dec. 31, 2023 to Feb. 22, 2024), sold to retailers in Delaware, Maryland, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Washington, D.C.
• Dole Fresh Vegetables, Inc. recalled Dole Chopped Kit Avocado Ranch, Dole Chop Kit Avocado Ranch, Dole Premium Kit Southwest Salad, Dole Cajun Ranch Chopped Kit, Dole Premium Kit Endless Summer, Dole Supreme Kit Southwest Salad, President’s Choice Southwest Salad Kit, and Marketside Chopped Salad Kit Bacon Ranch Crunch (best-if-used-by dates ranging from Feb. 3, 2024 to Feb. 21, 2024), all of which were processed on the same line as a cheese recalled by Rizo-López Foods, sold in Alabama, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. The salads were also distributed in the following Canadian provinces: Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Ontario, and Quebec.  
• Fresh Express recalled the Marketside Southwest Chopped Kit (use-by-dates of Jan. 14, 2024 to Jan. 17, 2024 and condiment pack use-by-dates of March 3, 2024), sold at retailers in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia; and the Fresh Express Salsa! Ensalada Salad Kit (use-by-dates of Jan. 6, 2024 to Jan. 8, 2024 and Jan. 21, 2024 to Feb. 20,2024 and condiment pack use-by-dates of Feb. 28, 2024 to April 4, 2024), sold at retailers in California, Idaho, Utah and Washington, because both had condiment packs containing recalled cheese.
• Fresh & Ready Foods is four sandwiches as a result of the Rizo-López Foods recall of cotija cheese: Fresh & Ready Ham Torta Sandwich, Fresh & Ready Chicken Torta Sandwich, Sprig & Sprout Ham Torta Sandwich on Telera Roll, Jack & Olive Ham Torta Sandwich on Telera Roll, all distributed between Jan. 21, 2024 and Feb. 6, 2024 and sold exclusively in locations in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah.
• Ready Pac Foods, Inc. recalled Marketside Southwest Chopped Kits (use-by-dates Dec. 27, 2023 to Jan. 1, 2024) and Marketside Bacon Ranch Crunch Kits (use-by-dates Feb. 3, 2024 to Feb. 19, 2024) sold to Walmart stores in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Maryland, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont and Wyoming; Ready Pac Bistro Fresh Mex Chopped Kit (use-by-dates Jan. 1, 2024 to Feb. 18, 2024) sold to WinCo stores in Arizona and California; and Ready Pac Bistro Queso Crunch Salad Kits (use-by-dates Jan. 1, 2024 to Feb. 18, 2024), all with recalled cheese, sold to Costco stores in California, Hawaii, and Nevada.
• Stater Bros. Markets is recalling 768 units of Chicken Street Taco Kits (all-sell-thru dates up to and including Feb. 10, 2024), because a recalled cheese ingredient is in the kits' crema cup; the kits were available for purchase at all Stater Bros. Markets in California.
• The Save Mart Companies recalled all lot and date codes of Chicken Street Taco Kits sold in Save Mart, Lucky, and Lucky California store service delis, because they include a cup of crema sauce containing cotija cheese produced and recalled by Rizo-López Foods; the kits were sold at stores in California and Nevada.
• Taylor Fresh Foods is voluntarily recalling Marketside Bacon Ranch Crunch Salad Kit, which were made with ingredient packets containing cheese as part of the expanded recall from Rizo-López Foods (all had best-if-used-by dates on or before Feb 21, 2024), and were sold at Walmart stores in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, Wyoming, Washington, D.C.

Listeria: Here's how you get it and the symptoms

You can get listeriosis, an infection, by eating food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, a bacteria. In November 2023, the FDA issued a recall of peaches, plums and nectarines sold at stores including at supermarkets including Albertsons, Aldi, Publix, Sam's Club and Walmart over concerns of listeria contamination.

Most people who infected do not become seriously ill, but a serious infection can develop in those most susceptible including pregnant women and their newborns, adults ages 65 or older, and people with weakened immune systems, according to the CDC . Each year, about 1,600 people get sick and 260 die from listeriosis, the CDC says.

Symptoms may start the same day you eat contaminated food, but are more likely to begin within two weeks after consumption and may start as late as 10 weeks later, according to the FDA.

Symptoms may include fever, muscle aches, nausea, fatigue, vomiting and diarrhea for those with a mild illness. Serious infections may lead to headaches, a stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and convulsions. If you develop symptoms, contact your health care provider.

Listeria outbreak cheese recall

The recently recalled products tie into a multistate and multi-year investigation involving listeria outbreaks connected to Rizo-López Foods in 2021 and 2017, with cases dating back to 2014. The FDA and Centers for Diseased Control and Infection began investigating again after the Hawaii State Department of Health in January 2024 reported it had found a sample of Rizo-López Foods-manufactured Rizo Bros Aged Cotija that tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes. 

The outbreak has resulted in 26 illnesses with 2 deaths and 23 hospitalizations in 11 states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Washington), the CDC has said.  Illnesses date back to 2014, the CDC said, with the most recent case in December 2023. One death was reported from California in 2017 and the other death was reported from Texas in 2020, the CDC told USA TODAY.

What if I bought cheese products recalled for listeria risk ?

Check your refrigerator and freezer for any recalled products and throw them away. Do not eat them. If you froze a product without the original packaging and can’t tell if it is part of the recall, throw it away. You can get a refund from the store where you bought the products.

Clean and sanitize any surfaces the products may have touched, as listeria can survive in refrigerators and spread to other foods and surfaces. Follow the FDA's safe handling and cleaning advice to prevent cross-contamination. 

Follow Mike Snider on X and Threads: @mikesnider & mikegsnider.

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