Whole Foods recalls cheese for possible Listeria contamination

Whole Foods is recalling a specific kind of cheese from stores nationwide after a unsafe form of bacteria that causes listeria infections was found by U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials.

Natural foods chain Whole Foods is recalling organic Roquefort cheese due to possible listeria contamination.

The Papillion Organic Roquefort cheese was packaged in clear plastic wrap and sold with Whole Foods Market scale labels.

Listeria monocytogenes, the organism that can cause infection, was found by the FDA during routine sampling of the market’s cheese. The people most at risk are pregnant women, the elderly and people with compromised immune systems from HIV, cancer, diabetes, kidney disease and transplants. Symptoms include high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea. All “offer by” dates are influenced.

The company says the product is potentially contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. Those affected by the outbreak were from nine different states: New York, Washington, California, Michigan, Colorado, Ohio, Illinois, Tennessee and Massachusetts.