Somerset Cheese Company has recalled its goats cheese Pennard Red after it tested positive for the presence of listeria.
However, it has stressed that the outbreak was at a low level.
The company recalled the batch of contaminated product on Wednesday last week. It had been sent to wholesale customers, it confirmed, but 80% of the batch has now been returned to the supplier.
Laboratory reports showed there were fewer than 10 colony forming units of the bug per gram of product, which according to Somerset Cheese Company amounted to trace levels.
It added that the subsequent retesting of the batch had shown the levels of contamination were so low as to be unmeasurable.
“Following the current high alert on listeria cases in the south we have been working very closely with our environmental health officers and the Food Standards Agency to put in place an official recall for the remaining cheese,” said Anita Robinson and Philip Rainbow, directors of Somerset Cheese Company, in a statement.
“Somerset Cheese Company would like to reassure their customers that all batches and subsequently every other batch of cheese made by us will have been tested prior to release and will be certified free from listeria and safe to eat,” they added.
The directors also confirmed that the incident of listeria had not been linked to any other outbreaks.
Last month, Wiltshire-based cheesemaker The Old Cheese Room was forced to recall its range of baronet cheeses after listeria monocytogenes were found in some batches.
The supplier had to recall the 1kg Baronet Soft Cheese, its 200g Baby Baronet Soft Cheese and its 270g Mini Baronet Soft Cheese due to presence of the bacteria.
Following this, the FSA revealed that one person had died from listeriosis and two others had contracted the illness.
“There is no reason to be concerned that there is a wider issue affecting cheese products in general,” said Tina Potter, FSA head of incidents, in response to the latest outbreak.
“People can help protect themselves by not eating any recalled products, thoroughly disinfecting any surfaces and equipment where recalled products have been kept, keeping fridges below five degrees Celsius, and always eating food within use-by dates,” she said.
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