Listeria threatens ricotta cheese in Canada
December 4th, 2008 joshua
Canadians living in the capital province of Ontario are being warned not to eat a certain type of ricotta cheese because it could be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency, along with International Cheese Co. is warning those Canadians not to eat Santa Lucia brand Ricotta Cheese. The cheese was sold in 500-gram packages and features a Best Before date of 09JA01 (literally, January 1, 2009). The Lot No. is 477. According to a report, the product has only been distributed in Ontario, Canada, and is being voluntarily recalled.
The report did not indicate if Canadian health officials or inspectors at International Cheese Co. discovered the possible contamination, or where it was found, either at the manufacturing facility (where it was likely to have originated) or somewhere else along the supply chain.
The cheese is reported to have reached store shelves in some parts of Ontario, but there have been no reports of illness associated with people eating this cheese.
Listeria is not the most common form of food-borne illness, and it is nearly impossible to tell if you’re eating contaminated food. Pain and nausea are among the symptoms people with regular immune systems could suffer. The contamination could be much more complicated for pregnant women (it could result in miscarriage or stillbirth) and the frail.
The potentially life-threatening form of food poisoning was apparently discovered at some point by health of company officials.












