Health officials have issued an urgent recall for a number of cheese products found to be contaminated with a potentially deadly bacteria.
The Middlefield Original Cheese Co-Op facility in Middlefield, Ohio, is recalling more than two tons of its popular offerings, including its Pepper Jack and White Cheddar cheese, after the bacteria listeria was detected during testing.
The FDA warns consumption of food contaminated with listeria monocytogenes can cause listeriosis, a serious infection that primarily affects older adults, people with weakened immune systems, and pregnant women and their newborns.
Symptoms include high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea.
In more serious cases, it can cause confusion, loss of balance and convulsions if it spreads to the nervous system.
The cheese products were shipped to manufacturers and distributors, and sold in retail stores in Ohio.
The recall includes 246.5lbs of ‘100% Grass-fed Pepper Jack Cheese’, 2.5lbs of ‘Horseradish Flavored Cheese’, 640lbs of ‘Monterey Jack Cheese’, and 4,544.5lbs of ‘White Cheddar Cheese’.
All varieties were sold in either 8oz packages or 5lb or 40lb rectangular loaves.
Five cheese products have been recalled due to potential contamination with deadly bacteria (stock image)
No illnesses or deaths have been reported to date in the recall, but officials are urging anyone who believes they were sickened by the cheese to report their illness.
People have been urged to throw out the contaminated blocks or to return them to stores for a full refund.
Revealing the recall, FDA officials said testing by the Middlefield Original Cheese Co-Op had detected the bacteria in its products.
The cheesemaker is a family-owned business located about 30 miles east of Cleveland.
The co-op was started in 1956 and today there are 90 co-op members who run diary farms, 98 percent of whom are Amish.
The recalled products were produced on June 16, 2025, June 24, 2025, and July 16th, and distributed in the state of Ohio between July 14, 2025 and August 7, 2025.
The cheeses were manufactured at the Middlefield Original Cheese Co-Op plant, which produces a wide range of cheese products sold in its on-site store and for retailers across the country and in Canada.
Listeria can contaminate everything from raw vegetables, unpasteurized dairy and deli meats, and is behind about 47 recalls every year.
In the US, around 1,600 people get sick from Listeria infections each year, leading to 260 or so deaths.
In pregnant women, the infection can cause miscarriages, stillbirths, premature delivery or life-threatening infection of the newborn.
The cheeses were manufactured at the Middlefield Original Cheese Co-Op plant, which produces a wide range of cheese products sold in its on-site store and for retailers across the country and in Canada
In addition, serious and sometimes fatal infections in older adults and persons with weakened immune systems. Listeriosis is treated with antibiotics.
Listeria contamination was also behind a recent major nationwide recall involving four other cheese products sold by Wegmans Food Markets.
Affected products, supplied by Georgia-based Estancia Holdings, were pulled from stores after the company was notified by their French supplier that three shipments they received may be contaminated with listeria.
Then last year, the bacteria was behind a recall of 10million pounds of beef and poultry used in ready-to-eat meals.
It was also behind a major recall of Boar’s Head products, with the outbreak leading to 10 deaths and 61 people sickened by tainted deli meat.
Consumers with questions on the latest recall may contact the Middlefield Original Cheese Co-Op customer service.
