BALTIMORE — Clover Hill Dairy is telling the public to not eat its requesón/soft ricotta products.
The Maryland Department of Health (MDH) announced today that the company has issued voluntary recall due to possible Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) contamination.
Consumers, retailers and restaurants should not eat, sell or serve products containing Clover Hill Dairy requesón/soft ricotta products, and should get rid of any product containing them.
Photographs show the front label of sample Clover Hill Dairy requesón/soft ricotta products.
This does not represent all products and distributors affected by this voluntary recall.
Officials are encouraging buyers to check manufacturer information on packages as products may be relabeled under a different brand name when distributed. The label should identify the Clover Hill Dairy manufacturer permit (or plant) number as “24-128”.
Clover Hill Dairy products are available for sale through their retail market, at farmers markets, and through third party distributors, including in New York and Virginia.
MDH has suspended facility’s operating license because of the public health risk.
L. monocytogenes is a type of disease-causing bacteria, part of the Listeria family, that can grow in unsanitary food production conditions, leading to contamination of the food. When people eat food contaminated with L. monocytogenes, they may develop a disease called listeriosis.
It can survive and grow even under refrigeration, and can easily spread to other foods and surfaces. Pets can also spread the bacteria in the home if they eat food contaminated with L. monocytogenes.
Listeriosis can cause a range of symptoms that vary depending on the severity and form of the illness. It can be serious and life-threatening, particularly for pregnant women, newborns and young children, older adults, and persons with weakened immune systems.
Mild symptoms include fever, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, which often persist for 1 to 3 days. For the more serious form of the disease, symptoms may include headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and convulsions.
Consumers at higher risk for Listeria illness should not eat any soft cheeses that are made with unpasteurized milk. Although pasteurization of milk kills Listeria, soft cheeses made from pasteurized milk can still become contaminated after the pasteurization process and cause Listeria illnesses.
This represents the best information currently available to the Maryland Department of Health.
