Taco night might not be in the cards this week after several food brands decided to pull a variety of cremas and other dairy products from shelves amid the growing Listeria outbreak that’s left more than 25 people sick. On. Feb. 7, Fresh Creative Foods issued a voluntary recall on certain items that contain cheese supplied by Rizo-López Foods, Inc. as the dairy ingredient has the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, per a notice posted by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA).
The farm-to-market supplier is known for manufacturing and distributing “creams, everything sauces, cilantro cotija dressing, poblano Caesar dressing, cilantro dressing,” and taco kits to well-known grocers like Costco, Trader Joe’s, H-E-B, and Albertsons.
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In the release, however, Fresh Creative Foods specified that its 32-oz. Don Pancho Cilantro Lime Crema Twin Pack, 12-oz. Don Pancho Everything Sauce Fiesta 3 Pack, 12-oz. bottles of HEB Cilantro Cotija Dressing and HEB Poblano Cesar Dressing, 12-oz. Trader Joe’s Cilantro Dressing, and 22-oz. Don Pancho Chicken Street Taco Express Meal Kit are being voluntarily recalled due to a potential contamination of Listeria via cheese supplier Rizo-López Foods, Inc.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Listeria is a foodborne bacterial illness that can turn into an infection called listeriosis once ingested. In most people, the intestinal illness will make itself known within 24 hours of eating contaminated food and result in symptoms like diarrhea and vomiting. Though far from ideal, symptoms typically clear up on their own without medical treatment after one to three days.
FDA
Fresh Creative Foods says customers can verify whether their products are impacted by the recall by referencing the Universal Product Code (UPC) and best-by date—which is located below the label on most dressing bottles. Customers can find their products’ corresponding UPCs and expiration dates by visiting the FDA website.
The dressings and taco kit were sold at Costco, H-E-B, Trader Joe’s, and Albertsons in 16 different states: California, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Maryland, Montana, New Jersey, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Washington. Fresh Creative Foods is urging customers to discard any products that may be contaminated or return them to the appropriate grocer for a proper refund.
Trader Joe's
In a release of their own, Trader Joe’s announced it would be recalling its Chicken Enchiladas Verde, Cilantro Salad Dressing, Elote Chopped Salad Kit, and Southwest Salad—all of which contain cotija cheese supplied by Rizo-López Foods.
Similarly, Trader Joe’s is requesting customers to toss these products or return them to their nearest Trader Joe’s location for a refund.
As of this reporting, there have been no reports of illness from this specific recall. However, on Feb. 6, the CDC published a safety alert about a related recall and noted that the larger Listeria outbreak has sickened 26 people so far, 23 of whom have been hospitalized; two people have died. This separate recall was also due to food supplied by Rizo-López Foods and included cotija cheese, queso fresco, crema, and yogurt.
