TEXAS, USA — A listeria outbreak in cheese has killed two people, including someone in Texas.
California-based Rizo-Lopez Foods has recalled all cheese and dairy products made at its facility, including some popular queso fresco and cotija cheese.
If you have any of the products in your home, you're urged to throw them away or return them to the store. Consumers should also clean anything the products may have touched because listeria can survive in the refrigerator and easily spread.
More than 60 soft cheeses, yogurt and sour cream sold under the brands Tio Francisco, Don Francisco, Rizo Bros, Rio Grande, Food City, El Huache, La Ordena, San Carlos, Campesino, Santa Maria, Dos Ranchitos, Casa Cardenas and 365 Whole Foods Market, were recalled.
The recalled products were available nationwide at stores including El Super, Cardenas Market, Northgate Gonzalez, Superior Groceries, El Rancho, Vallarta, Food City, La Michoacana and Numero Uno Markets.
Some listeria symptoms to look out for include headaches, a stiff neck, confusion and loss of balance or seizures. If you're pregnant, you could also suffer a fever, muscle aches and tiredness.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, new evidence linked the outbreak to Rizo-Lopez Foods and was first detected in June 2014. Since then, 26 people in 11 states have gotten sick, including a person who died in California in 2017, and another who died in Texas in 2020.
The CDC said food poisoning tied to queso fresco and similar types of cheese was investigated in 2017 and 2021, but it didn't have enough evidence to identify a source.