Multi-State Outbreak of Listeriosis Linked to Soft Raw Milk Cheese Made by Vulto Creamery

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), public health and regulatory officials in several states, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are investigating a multi-state outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes infections (listeriosis). Listeria can cause a serious, life-threatening illness.

Six people infected with the outbreak strain of Listeria have been reported from four states since Sept. 1, 2016. All six people were hospitalized, and two people from Connecticut and Vermont died. One illness was reported in a newborn.

Epidemiologic and laboratory evidence indicate that soft raw milk cheese made by Vulto Creamery of Walton, N.Y., is the likely source of this outbreak. Six of six people interviewed reported eating various types of soft cheeses in the month before their illness started. The outbreak strain of Listeria was identified in samples taken from three intact wheels of Ouleout cheese collected from Vulto Creamery.

On March 7, 2017, Vulto Creamery recalled all lots of Ouleout, Miranda, Heinennellie, and Willowemoc soft wash-rind raw milk cheeses. The soft raw milk cheeses were distributed nationwide, with most being sold at retail locations in the northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states, California, Chicago, Portland, Oregon, and Washington, D.C.

The CDC recommends that consumers do not eat, restaurants do not serve, and retailers do not sell recalled soft raw milk cheeses made by Vulto Creamery.

Source: CDC