Meijer Brand Cheese Recalled Due To Listeria Risk

DETROIT (WWJ) - Meijer shoppers should check their cheese.

The Michigan-based company has announced the recall of two varieties of Meijer Brand cheese sold at its deli counters due to a potential Listeria contamination.

The recall includes Meijer Brand Colby Cheese and Colby Jack Cheese sold in Meijer stores from Nov. 10, 2016 to Feb. 9, 2017.

Meijer says the recalled product will be in plastic deli packaging with printed labels with UPCs 215927xxxxxx or 215938xxxxxx. The last 6 digits will vary, and are determined by weight.

Listeria can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems, according to the FDA. Although healthy people may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, a Listeria monocytogenes infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths in pregnant women.

The company was notified about the problem by MDS Foods, a Meijer supplier that sources the Meijer branded cheeses from Deutsch Kase Haus, a cheese manufacturer based in Middlebury, Indiana.

Meijer said to date there have been no known illnesses reported from the recalled products.

Anyone who bought the cheese described above is urged not to eat it, but to throw it out or return it to the customer service desk at any Meijer store for a refund.

Customers with questions can call Meijer at 800-543-3704, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.