Hilltop Meadow Raw Pepper Jack Cheese is being recalled for possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination. Hilltop Meadow Farm is located at 153 Martin Road in Pine Grove, Pennsylvania, in Schuylkill county. No illnesses have been reported to the company to date in connection with the consumption of this raw milk cheese.
The cheese was sold in 1/2 pound, 1 pound, 2 pound, and 5 pound sizes at the on-farm store and in these stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Wisconsin:
Meadow Run Farms, 727 Rettew Mill Road, Littitz in Lancaster County Pennsylvania
Shady Acres Farm Market, 8514 Elizabethtown Road, Elizabethtown, in Lancaster County Pennsylvania
Willow Haven Farm, 7686 Herber Road, New Tripoli, in Leigh County, Pennsylvania
Healthy Habits Natural Market, 1120 Center Turnpike, Orwigsburg, Schuylkill County in Pennsylvania
Little Leaf Natural Products, 505 S Main Street, Montrose, Susquehanna County in Pennsylvania
Whole Earth Center, 360 Nassau Street in Princeton, New Jersey
Healthy Way, 396 S Main Street in Massena, New York
Northstar Bison Store, 225 Birch Avenue, in Cameron, Wisconsin
The Pepper Jack Raw Milk Cheese is labeled with the Hilltop Meadow Farm label. It also has the phrases “From A2/A2 Milk” and “Made from 100% Grassfed Cow’s Milk.” No picture of the recalled product was provided.
If you bought this cheese, do not eat it, even if you plan to cook with it, because of the possibility of cross-contamination. You can throw the cheese away in a secure trash can, or you can take it back to the store where you purchased it for a full refund. Then clean your refrigerator with a mild bleach solution to kill any remaining bacteria.
If you ate this cheese, watch yourself for the symptoms of listeriosis, which can take up to 70 days to appear. Early symptoms include nausea and diarrhea. If the illness progresses to the more serious form, patients suffer from severe headache, high fever, neck stiffness, confusion, and loss of balance. If you do get sick, see your doctor.
