On Tuesday, federal health authorities declared the recall of numerous products following the sickness of several individuals, with at least two fatalities confirmed to date. According to these officials, 60 products from a California-based cheese and dairy company have been recalled due to a listeria outbreak, which has resulted in the deaths of residents in California and Texas in recent years. Some of these products have been sold in Michigan too.
The details
Recent findings have linked products from Rizo-López Foods in Modesto, California, to a sickness wave first spotted in June 2014, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC reports that 26 individuals across 11 states have fallen ill from this sickness. There was a death in California in 2017 and another in Texas in 2020. The CDC looked into this situation in 2017 and 2021 but couldn’t pinpoint a specific product.
Last month, the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration started looking into it again after officials in Hawaii found listeria in Rizo Brothers Aged Cotija cheese. This led to a small recall on January 11, which has since gotten bigger.
The recalled products now include cheese, yogurt and sour cream sold under the following brand names, Rizo-López said in a notice posted on Tuesday by the FDA (See list of recalled products here.)
- Tio Francisco
- Don Francisco
- Rizo Bros
- Rio Grande
- Food City
- El Huache
- La Ordena
- San Carlos
- Campesino
- Santa Maria
- Dos Ranchitos
- Casa Cardenas,
- 365 Whole Foods Market
These products were available in at least 12 states including Michigan
The products in question were available at over 600 Walmart locations across 12 states, including Alabama, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Nevada, Oregon, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. They were also on sale at 28 Sam’s Club stores in Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Wyoming.
Additionally, these items were found at the deli sections of various stores such as El Super, Cardenas Market, Northgate Gonzalez, Superior Groceries, El Rancho, Vallarta, Food City, La Michoacana, and Numero Uno Markets.
Officials advise to immediately throw these products and clean surfaces
People who bought these products are advised to throw them away. Any surfaces or containers that touched the products need cleaning because listeria, the bacteria involved, can live in cool places and spread easily. For more information, customers can reach out to the company at (833) 296-2233.
Listeria poses the highest risk to pregnant individuals and their newborns, older adults over 65, and those with weakened immune systems. Symptoms of listeria infection often appear within two weeks after consuming tainted food and can range from fever and muscle pain to nausea, fatigue, vomiting, and diarrhea. In severe cases, symptoms may escalate to include headache, a stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and seizures.