Samples of goat cheeses collected Aug. 29 by Pennsylvania officials tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes but the Apple Tree Goat Dairy’s recall notice was not posted by federal officials until Tuesday.

To see labels for all of the recalled varieties of goat cheese from Apple Tree Goat Dairy, click on the image.
To see labels for all of the recalled varieties of goat cheese from Apple Tree Goat Dairy, click on the image.
The Richfield, PA, goat dairy has recalled feta, gouda, pasteurized chèvre and French herb chèvre cheeses because of the Listeria test results, according to a notice posted Tuesday by the Food and Drug Administration. Pennsylvania’s Department of Agriculture posted a notice Sept. 9 warning of potential dangers associated with the cheeses, advising the public to not eat the cheeses. “Routine samples of cheese taken at the goat dairy by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture on Aug. 29, 2016, tested positive for the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes. Currently, no illnesses have been reported that could be associated with the cheeses,” the Pennsylvania officials reported Sept. 9. The recalled cheeses and identifying label and packaging information:

  • Pasteurized Chevre, lot number 816, packaged in 8-ounce shrink wrapped bags or 5-pound plastic tubs;
  • Pasteurized French Herb Chevre, lot number 736, packaged in 8-ounce shrink wrapped bags or 5-pound plastic tubs;
  • Raw 60 Day Aged Feta Cheese, lot number 836, with an expiration date of 12/16; and
  • Raw 60 Day Aged Gouda, lot number 426, packaged in square blocks of 8 ounces or in 5-pound blocks.

“Apple Tree Goat Dairy sells its cheeses at a farmers market in Doylestown, Bucks County, on Saturdays. The cheese is also distributed throughout other areas of Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia and Washington D.C.,” according to the notice posted by Pennsylvania’s agriculture department. Listeria monocytogenes is a microscopic organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women. (To sign up for a free subscription to Food Safety News, click here.)