On February 8, the CDC announced that recalled dairy products were associated with a listeria outbreak in eleven states.
According to the CDC, 26 people have been sick, 23 have been hospitalized, and two have died as a consequence of the outbreak.
In a news statement on Tuesday, Rizo-López Foods said that the dairy products might be tainted with Listeria monocytogenes, which is why they were recalled.
Sour cream, cheese, and yogurt from many brands, including Food City, Don Francisco, 365 Whole Foods Market, Tio Francisco, San Carlos, Rizo Bros, Santa Maria, Rio Grande, El Huache, La Ordena, Campesino, Dos Ranchitos, and Casa Cardenas, are all part of the recalled items.
The FDA said that the multistate epidemic associated with that type of Listeria had persisted for several years.
Cold storage and other methods of food preservation do not kill listeria.
According to the FDA, the CDC looked into this epidemic in 2017 and 2021. Prior epidemiologic research had linked queso fresco and related cheeses to the epidemic, but inadequate data prevented the identification of a particular brand.
The outbreak strain was detected in a cheese specimen from Rizo-López Foods, according to the FDA, and the CDC renewed the inquiry last month in response to infections in December.
The CDC investigated 22 persons; 16 of them reported being sick after consuming queso fresco, cotija, or a cheese comparable to it. Rizo-López Foods is still under investigation by the FDA.
According to the Mayo Clinic, Listeriosis is a potentially fatal illness that may be caused by the bacterium listeria. Consumption of unpasteurized milk products, processed foods tainted during processing, and deli meats that have been poorly prepared are the most typical causes.
Pregnant women, the elderly, and those with compromised immune systems are particularly vulnerable to the devastating consequences that may arise from listeriosis, such as stillbirth, early delivery, miscarriage, or even infection in the baby. Listeriosis symptoms, which may range from moderate to severe, include a high temperature, nausea, sore muscles, and diarrhea. The symptoms of listeriosis might be lessened with the use of antibiotics administered quickly.