FDA Issues Warning Over Mexicali Cheese Corp. Products

WASHINGTONThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers not to purchase or consume any products from the Mexicali Cheese Corp. of Woodhaven, N.Y., because Listeria monocytogenes was found in the products and at the companys production facility.

The affected products include 14-ounce tubs of Mexicali Queso Fresco Mexicano, Mexican Style Fresh Cheese; Acatlan Queso Fresco, Fresh Cheese; Mi Quesito Mexicano, Mexican Cheese; and Quesillo Ecuatoriano, Ecuadorian Style Cheese distributed in the New York City area, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. FDA is asking retailers to remove any Mexicali cheese products from their shelves, and is warning consumers that products may have moved beyond those states. The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets issued warnings on June 29 and July 2, 2012.

Under a May 1, 2012, consent decree of permanent injunction, Mexicali Cheese was required by a court order to stop manufacturing and distributing any articles of food until it completed FDA-approved measures to correct food-safety deficiencies, decontaminate its facility and take other steps needed to comply with the law. They did not comply with the requirements.