SEVERAL SHREDDED AND GRATED CHEESE RECALLS

I am seriously thinking of adding all cheese to the list of "foods pregnant women should not eat" - the most popular blog on this site. That bacterium which is so dangerous for them - Listeria monocytogenes - is all over the place. And it is no longer just in unpasteurized raw cheeses either. In the last few years we have had quite a few in pasteurized cheeses as well.

And here are some more recalls. Mind you, these recalls are not just about cheese. The cheeses involved have all been grated or shredded, therefore adding to the risks. The contamination did not occur at the cheese producer level, but during the shredding or grating process.

Alpine Slicing and Cheese Conversion Company, located in Wisconsin, U.S.A., is recalling “HEB Queso Cotija (Grated)”, “El Viajero Queso Quesadilla (Shredded)”, “El Viajero Queso Cotija (Grated)”, and “BMF Queso Quesadilla (Shredded)” because testing has turned up Listeria monocytogenes in the "shred line" - presumably referring to the equipment used for shredding the cheese.

And here's another: Bekkum Family Farms LLC of Westby, WI, is recalling their shredded cheese with the odd name of "Grumpy Goat Shreds" which they sell under the Nordic Creamery brand name, in eight-ounce bags with a code date of 10-MAR-12. They got their cheese from Alpine Slicing (So much for the idea of it coming from their "farm") and sold it in stores in Wisconsin, Minnesota and California beginning Nov. 11.

And, some grated Kosher cheeses have been recalled too. The World Cheese Company, producer of Haolam and Miller's kosher cheese products, has issued a recall of some of their shredded cheeses that were also packaged (and shredded?) at the same Wisconsin plant (is that really Kosher?). The recalled cheeses are All 8-ounce and 16-ounce bags of Miller’s shredded cheese (pizza, mozzarella, cheddar, fancy, muenster), with an expiration of June 5, 2012 through Sept. 4, 2012; all 32-ounce bags of Miller’s shredded mozzarella with an expiration date of Feb. 6, 2012 through May 7, 2012; all 5-pound bags of Miller’s shredded mozzarella, cheddar, muenster and Monterey Jack with a package date of Sept. 8, 2011 through Dec. 7, 2011.

Shred or grate your own cheese. Frankly, I hate doing it, but unless you are a total slob, it is likely to be safer.

To your good health,
TSF