Cheese sold at Whole Foods Market has been recalled after an outbreak of Listeria food poisoning (listeriosis) sickened at least 5 people in 4 states: Minnesota (2), Illinois (1), Indiana (1) and Ohio (1). One of the Minnesota Listeria victims died. The recalled cheese, manufactured by Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese Company, includes Les Freres (LF225 2/2.5#), Petit Frère (PF88 8/8 oz) and Petit Frère with Truffles (PF88T 8/8 oz), all with a make date of 7-1-13 or earlier. The recalled cheese was sold at Whole Foods Market and Kroger stores nationwide, and at other retail stores and restaurants, according to the Crave Brothers website. The FDA has not released information as to the store or restaurant connected to the outbreak.
“Because the incubation period for Listeria can be as long as 70 days, there may be several more people who are victims of this outbreak,” said Fred Pritzker, a national Listeria lawyer. Pritzker is currently representing a man who suffered severe injuries as a result of eating cheese adulterated with Listeria monocytogenes. The lawsuit alleges that an Italian cheese maker produced and sold cheese that was contaminated with the deadly pathogen. Also named in the suit is the importer of the cheese and the retailer, Whole Foods Markets. It is also alleged that employees of Whole Foods Market failed to follow appropriate sanitation procedures in preparing and selling the Italian cheese which caused it to cross contaminate a French cheese which Whole Foods later recalled (and which the Pritzker client consumed).
Whole Foods Market stores in Minnesota are located as follows: 30 South Fairview Ave, St Paul; 3060 Excelsior Blvd, Minneapolis; 1001 Plymouth Road, Minnetonka; and 7401 France Ave S, Edina.
Whole Foods Market stores in Illinois are located as follows: 20281 N Rand Road, Kildeer; 750 N. Martingale Rd., Schaumburg; 760 Waukegan Rd, Deerfield; 840 Willow Road, Northbrook; 151 Rice Lake Square, Wheaton; 2607 W. 75th Street, Naperville; 1640 Chicago Ave, Evanston; 1111 Chicago Ave., Evanston; 500 E. Ogden Ave., Hinsdale; 7245 Lake St, River Forest; 201 63rd St, Willowbrook; 3300 N. Ashland Ave, Chicago; 3640 N Halsted St, Chicago; 1550 N. Kingsbury Street, Chicago; 30 West Huron St, Chicago; 1101 S. Canal St, Chicago; and Sauganash, 6020 N Cicero Ave, Chicago.
Whole Foods Market stores in Indiana are located as follows: 4230 Grape Road, Mishawaka; 14598 Clay Terrace Blvd., Carmel; and 1300 E. 86th St., Indianapolis.
Whole Foods Market stores in Ohio are located as follows: 5805 Deerfield Boulevard, Mason; 2693 Edmondson Rd., Cincinnati; 3670 W. Dublin-Granville Rd., Columbus; 1555 W. Lane Ave, Upper Arlington; Whole Foods Market Cedar Center, 13998 Cedar Rd., University Heights; and 27249 Chagrin Blvd, Woodmere.
Attorney Fred Pritzker and his Bad Bug Law Team represent Listeria victims and their families in personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits against food processors, retailers restaurants and others. Pritzker has a national reputation in the area of product liability litigation, and has spoken at Harvard Law School and Cornell University about food safety.
