March 28, 2024

New Yorkers Warned to Avoid Queso Fresco From Mexicali Cheese

New York Agriculture Commissioner Darrel Aubertine warned consumers in the metropolitan New York area to avoid Queso Fresco made by Mexicali Cheese Corporation in Woodhaven, New York, for possible Listeria contamination.

Product details:

  • Queso Fresco, Fresh Cheese
  • Packaged in rigid 14 ounce plastic tubs
  • Plant number 36-0128
  • Code of 071512
  • Packaged in containers bearing these names:
    • Mexicali Queso Fresco Mexicano
    • Mexican Style Fresh Cheese
    • Acatian Queso Fresco, Fresh Cheese
  • Sold in Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Queens, along with metropolitan New York

A sample of the cheese, taken by the Division of Milk Control and Dairy Services on June 20, 2012, and tested by the Department’s Food Laboratory, was contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The company was notified of a preliminary positive test on June 25, 2012 and started the recall. The test results were confirmed on June 29, 2012. No illnesses have been reported in connection with the consumption of these products.

Listeria monocytogenes can cause serious and sometimes fatal illnesses in the very young, the elderly, those with weakened immune systems, and anyone with a chronic illness.  In addition, it can cause miscarriages and stillbirths in pregnant women.

Back in January, that company was targeted by the FDA for closure. That agency asked a judge to block the manufacturer from operating its facility because of “persistent unsanitary conditions”.

On May 1, 2012, Judge John Gleeson in the Eastern District of New York signed a consent decree of permanent injunction in this case. It stated that Mexicali Cheese could not “receive, prepare, process, pack, hold, or distribute any articles of food until it has completed FDA-approved measures to correct deficiencies, decontaminate their facility, and comply with the law.”

An FDA Warning Letter was issued against the company in October 2010 after an inspection found Listeria in five locations in the facility. The inspection also found that employees were not cleaning and sanitizing utensils in a way that protects food from contamination, failed to properly maintain the plant and utensils to prevent adulteration of food, and failed to take all reasonable precautions to ensure that production procedures do not contribute contamination.

In addition, the plant did not have adequate sanitary facilities and accommodations. Floors and walls could not be adequately cleaned, management did not ensure that employees who worked directly with food washed their hands thoroughly, and there were no effective measures to exclude pests from the processing area.

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