Lakeview Cheese and Bashas’ Family of Stores are recalling various cheeses sold in Arizona from September 2016 through this week because they could be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

The Friday recall is the latest in a string of regional and nationwide cheese recalls posted on the Food and Drug Administration’s website since Tennessee inspectors found Listeria in cheese made by Deutsch Kase Haus LLC of Middlebury, IN. Because of potential cross contamination, cheeses packaged on the same production lines in several companies’ facilities that also handled cheese from Deutsch Kase Haus have been recalled in recent days.

logos Bashas Food City
To view photos of the recalled cheese labels provided by Bashas’ Family of Stores, please click on the image.

“The affected products were manufactured by Guggisberg Cheese Inc. and by Deutsch Kase Haus LLC of Middlebury, IN,” according to the Friday recall notice.

“The affected products were distributed by Las Vegas-based Lakeview Cheese to Bashas’ Family of Stores, and sold in Bashas’ and Food City supermarkets’ Arizona meat departments under the grocery brands’ private label.”

No illnesses have been confirmed in connection with any of the recalled cheese or products containing recalled cheese. However, it can take 70 days for symptoms of Listeria infection to develop.

Anyone who has eaten any of the recalled products should monitor themselves for symptoms of infection. Symptoms include fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions sometimes preceded by diarrhea or other gastrointestinal symptoms.

Consumers are urged to check their homes for unused portions of the recalled cheeses. No one should eat any of the recalled cheese.

“Bashas’ and Food City customers who have purchased these products between Sept. 1, 2016, and Feb. 21, 2017, can return them for a full refund,” according to the recall notice posted Friday. “Customers with questions can call Bashas’ Family of Stores’ Customer Service Department at 480-883-6131.”

Nine colby cheese products are included in the Bashas and Food City brands recall, including fixed-weight and bulk-cut, random-weight items. The products being voluntarily recalled are:

  • Food City Colby Longhorn Cheese, 12 oz.
  • Food City Colby Jack Cheese, 12 oz.
  • Food City Colby Monterey Cheese, 12 oz.
  • Random Weight Longhorn Colby Cheese
  • Random Weight Cut Co-Jack Cheese
  • Random Weight Cut Monterey Jack Cheese
  • Random Weight Cut Pepper Jack Cheese
  • Random Weight Colby Quarter Longhorn
  • Random Weight Colby Horn

Related recalls
Hundreds of cheeses and other products containing cheese made by Deutsch Kase Haus LLC have been recalled this month.

Cheese brands involved include Sargento, Sara Lee, Saputo, Dutch Valley and Guggisberg, as well as a variety of store-branded products sold by Meijer, Albertsons, H-E-B and other retailers.

The recalls, which began Feb. 10, stem from a random test conducted by Tennessee inspectors on samples of Amish Classics cheese collected from a retailer and produced by Deutsch Kase Haus LLC of Middleburg, IN. The cheese tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes and Tennessee officials posted a consumer alert.

The Food and Drug Administration is investigating the situation along with officials in several states. However, a clause in the federal code prevents FDA from releasing information about what companies bought cheese from Deutsch Kase Haus because such details are considered “confidential corporate information.”

Editor’s note: For additional information on the related recalls, please see:

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