Listeria found in 2 Quebec cheeses
Health officials link 9 cases of listeriosis to recalled cheese, probe 1 death
Last Updated: Wednesday, August 27, 2008 | 8:17 PM ET
CBC News
Quebec City deli Aux Petits Délices was closed this week after inspectors linked it to a person infected with listerosis. (Jacques Boissinot/Canadian Press)Two brands of Quebec-made cheese have been pulled from store shelves after provincial health officials found contamination from a strain of listeria.
Quebec's Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food ordered the recall Tuesday of two soft cheeses — Riopelle de l'Île and Mont-Jacob.
Ministry officials warned consumers not to eat Riopelle de l'Île cheese purchased at Aux Petits Délices in Quebec City between Aug. 6 and Aug. 11. A similar warning was issued for Mont-Jacob sold with an Aug. 29 best-before date at Octofruit Maître Gourmet in Ste-Thérèse.
Quebec's agriculture ministry said the cheese contamination appears to have taken place after the products left the factory.
Officials said the strain of listeria is different from the one found in meat products from Maple Leaf Foods that has been linked to a nationwide listeriosis outbreak and 15 deaths.
Horatio Arruda, Quebec's public health director, said there are at least nine cases of listeriosis associated with the recalled cheeses.
Officials are awaiting test results from a man who died Tuesday night to determine whether the death is linked to contaminated cheese.
Guy Auclair, the department's director of food inspection, said inspectors used information provided by people who contracted listeriosis to zero in on the stores.
Officials have yet to determine how listeria came into contact with the cheese.
