UA recall campaign concerning two types of raw milk cheeses from a cheese dairy of the Graindorge brand, of the Lactalis group, and marketed by major retailers was launched on Tuesday April 5, after the discovery of a cheese containing the bacteria responsible of listeriosis, indicated the government site Rappel Conso.
It concerns “a few hundred cheeses”, indicated to Agence-France Presse Bruno Lefèvre, the director of the Fromagerie de Livarot which produced them and which belongs to Graindorge. These are Coulommiers and 1 kg Bries from the Normanville brand and the Graindorge brand. These recalled cheeses may contain Listeria monocytogenes (causative agent of listeriosis).
A check revealed “a very low presence of Listeria monocytogenes on a single cheese”, Bruno Lefèvre told Agence France-Presse. And “in accordance with our quality procedures, we have decided to apply the precautionary principle and recall the entire batch made from milk collected from four of our milk producers” based in the Pays d’Auge, a- he explained.
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A foodborne infection that can be deadly
Listeriosis, a foodborne infection, is rare – a few hundred cases per year in France – but once declared, it can be deadly: around a quarter of patients die. The incubation period can be up to eight weeks. Graindorge is a brand specializing in the purchase and processing of raw milk, producing AOP and regional cheeses, owned since 2016 by Lactalis.
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The cheeses concerned have been marketed throughout France since mid-March in the supermarkets of the Auchan, Leclerc, Casino, Carrefour, Intermarché, Cora, Système U brands, but also Schiever (very present in the North-East) and grocery stores “WE Anti Gaspi”. Another coulommiers marketed by Franprix and bearing the same batch number is subject to a recall under the same conditions.
The government site recommends returning the products for reimbursement or destroying them. People who have consumed the products and have a fever, isolated or accompanied by headaches, and body aches are invited to consult their doctor. Pregnant women, immunocompromised people and the elderly should be particularly attentive to these symptoms, it is specified.
Buitoni pizzas and Kinder products also recalled
The recall procedure is due to end on April 19. The identification number of the recalled batches is 250222LI9 and the health mark or stamp is FR 14 371 001 CE, according to the site rappel.conso.gouv.fr.
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This campaign comes in the wake of a massive recall of frozen pizzas of the Buitoni brand, after several serious cases of contamination of children by the bacterium Escherichia coli and deaths, possibly linked to the consumption of these products. An investigation is ongoing into this case.
Two weeks before Easter, several dozen cases of salmonellosis have also been detected in Europe and suspicions are turning to Kinder chocolate products made in Belgium and recalled by the manufacturer Ferrero.