1 Dead, 5 Sickened From Listeria-Tainted Cheese

ATLANTA and WASHINGTONThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are investigating a multistate outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes linked to Crave Brothers Les Frères cheese sold at Whole Foods Markets, other retailers, foodservice outlets and mail order companies  that has sickened five people in four states and killed one person in Minnesota. One illness in a pregnant woman resulted in a miscarriage.

A collaborative investigation by local and state public health and regulatory agencies, CDC and FDA indicates that Les Frères, Petit Frère and Petit Frère with Truffles cheeses made by Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese Company is the likely source of this outbreak. On July 3, the company, based in Waterloo, Wis., recalled the cheeses with make dates of July 1, 2013 or earlier. The recalled cheeses were distributed nationwide through retail and foodservice outlets as well as by mail orders. Among persons for whom information is available, dates that illness was diagnosed range from May 20, 2013 to June 17, 2013.

Public health investigators are using DNA fingerprints" of Listeria obtained through testing with pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, or PFGE, to identify cases of illness that may be part of this outbreak. They are using data from PulseNet, the national subtyping network of state and local public health laboratories and federal food regulatory laboratories that performs molecular surveillance of foodborne infections.

According to a recall issues by Whole Foods Markets, the recalled Crave Brothers Les Frères cheese was cut and packaged in clear plastic wrap and sold with Whole Foods Market scale labels. The following is a list of how the cheese was labeled, including PLU code, according to the state in which it was sold: