Moonstruck White Moon Camembert, along with the Saltspring Island company's Savory Moon Camembert and Ash-Ripened Camembert, have been recalled.Moonstruck White Moon Camembert, along with the Saltspring Island company's Savory Moon Camembert and Ash-Ripened Camembert, have been recalled. (BCCDC)

A warning has been issued about a brand of Camembert cheese made in B.C. that could be contaminated with potentially deadly Listeria bacteria.

The cheese was manufactured on Saltspring Island by Moonstruck Organic Cheese, the B.C. Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) said in a release Monday.

No reported infections had yet been traced to consumption of the cheese.

This recall is the result of what the BCCDC said was a routine sampling it performed on one wheel of the finished product that contained Listeria monocytogenes bacteria. There were concerns that other batches of the cheese might also be affected.

Three Camembert varieties are potentially contaminated, including White Moon, Savory Moon and Ash-Ripened. Affected products include:

  • Code 240110, with best before dates of 03/03/10, 10/03/10, and 24/03/10.
  • Code 200110, with best before date 03/03/10.
  • Code 290110. with best before dates 10/03/10, 17/03/10, 23/03/10.
  • Code 050210 with best before dates 17/03/10, 23/03/10, 02/04/10.
  • Code 120210 with best before dates 23/03/10, 02/04/10.
  • Code 190210, with best before date 02/04/10.

The company's cheese was sold through various retailers in British Columbia, and anyone who may have purchased it should not consume it and discard or return it to their place of purchase, the BCCDC said.

Listeria bacteria, if present, will grow to high numbers even if the cheese has been stored in the refrigerator. Food contaminated with the bacteria may not look or smell spoiled.

Consumption of food contaminated with Listeria can cause listeriosis, an uncommon but potentially fatal disease.

Healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, the BCCDC said. Listeria can cause serious and sometimes fatal blood infections or meningitis in frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.

A Listeria outbreak at a Maple Leaf Foods plant in Toronto in 2008 killed at least 20 people across Canada.