CREAM cheese sold in dozens of varieties has been recalled over fears it could be contaminated with a potentially deadly bacteria.
Made Fresh Salads and Northside branded spreads were ripped from shelves after testing detected traces of Listeria.
Made Fresh Salads Inc., based in Bay Shore, New York, has pulled all of its ready-to-eat cream cheese products, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
Some 25 cream cheese and spread products are listed in the recall, including popular flavors such as strawberry, scallion, blueberry, garlic and herb and lox.
Other varieties include apple cinnamon, bacon scallion, chocolate chip, jalapeno, jalapeno cheddar, olive pimento, vegetable and whipped cream cheese.
Tofu spreads are also among the affected products.
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This is the latest in a string of serious recalls affecting items like pork, white rice, blueberries, guacamole, and olive oil.
It comes after a widespread issue affecting lettuce sold across the US sparked fears of an explosive diarrhea bug.
The cream cheese was sold in five-pound tubs, while scallion and whipped varieties were also distributed in much larger 30-pound containers.
Products were sold under the Made Fresh Salads and Northside labels.
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However, shoppers have been warned that stores may have repacked the products into their own deli-style or other retail packaging.
This means the packaging and coding customers see could differ depending on where the food was bought.
The gull list of affected cream cheese products can be checked on the FDA’s recall notice.
The recall was announced on September 6 after environmental sampling carried out by the FDA and the company found some areas of the production facility tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes.
No illnesses linked to the recall have been reported to date.
Made Fresh Salads has stopped production and distribution of the affected foods while it and the FDA investigate what caused the problem.
Listeria can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections, particularly in young children, elderly or frail people and those with weakened immune systems.
Healthy people can suffer short-term symptoms including high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea.
The infection can also cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women, the FDA warned.
The recall stretches beyond cream cheese, with more than 40 deli-style salads and other prepared foods also being pulled.
They include potato salad, macaroni salad, coleslaw, shrimp salad, egg salad, quinoa salad, pasta dishes and tuna varieties.
Chocolate and vanilla puddings, potato croquettes and crabcakes are also included.
The various salads were distributed by direct delivery to retailers and distributors across Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and New York City.
They were supplied in five-pound and 30-pound white plastic tubs carrying a Made Fresh Salads or Northside label, as well as half-size aluminium pans.
Affected salads have expiration dates ranging from September 3 through September 18, 2026, printed on the bottom left of the label.
Customers who bought recalled Made Fresh Salads products have been urged to return them to the place of purchase for a full refund.
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