After federal inspectors found potentially deadly bacteria in samples of its products, Modesto-based Rizo Lopez Foods Inc. this month recalled all of its packaged products, including several types of cotija cheese, yogurt and sour cream.
The bacteria in question Listeria monocytogenes, can cause listeriosis, a foodborne infection that is often harmless but sometimes fatal. According to the US Food and Drug Administration, a particular genetic strain of the bacteria has been linked to infections dating back to June 2014.
The agency investigated the series of infections in 2017 and 2021 and found a probable link to fresh cheese and similar cheeses, but could not say which company or companies had sold the products. Then in January, health officials found the same strain of listeria in a sample from Rizo Bros Aged Cotija. Testing by the FDA at the Rizo López Foods manufacturing plant also found a sample with that strain, leading the company to voluntarily recall its entire product line.
Since then, numerous manufacturers of packaged foods containing Rizo Bros cheeses have recalled their products. These include salads and prepared meals from Dole, Trader Joe's, Von's, Costco, Albertsons and Bristol Farms.
Only 26 infections related to this strain have been reported to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but the CDC says many people who contract listeria do not report it. The agency interviewed 22 of the infected people and 16 said they had eaten fresh cheese, cotija or similar cheeses.
Considering the number of products Rizo López has sold and the small number of reported cases, the chances of anyone becoming seriously ill seem slim. However, the FDA recommends that people check their refrigerators and freezers for recalled products and throw away any they find.
Here's what you need to know about the illness and recent recalls.
What is listeria?
Technically, the term refers to the bacteria, but is often used to refer to the disease listeriosis. Unusually hardy, the bacteria can survive refrigeration and even freezing, says the Mayo Clinic.
Possible breeding sites for the bacteria are moist environments, soil, water, decaying vegetation and animals, the FDA says. Food can contract bacteria when coming into contact with contaminated surfaces or environments; pets that eat contaminated food can also spread it in the home.
What are the symptoms of a listeria infection?
According to the Mayo Clinic, “healthy people rarely get sick from a listeria infection.” If you experience symptoms, they may begin as a stomach virus, with vomiting and diarrhea beginning up to 24 hours after eating contaminated food and lasting one to three days. But this type of illness is rarely diagnosed, according to the CDC, because labs typically don't look for listeria when testing patients' stool samples.
The threat is that the infection will spread beyond the stomach and become invasive.
According to the CDC, for pregnant women, the symptoms of invasive listeriosis are usually flu-like (fever, muscle aches, and fatigue), but they tend to be mild, if at all. But the risk to the fetus is serious; Infection during pregnancy “usually causes miscarriage, stillbirth, premature birth, or a life-threatening infection of the newborn,” the CDC says.
For those who are not pregnant, symptoms can be severe. They include fever, headache, muscle aches, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and seizures. According to the CDC, nearly 5% of non-pregnant people who get invasive listeriosis die.
Who is most at risk?
Due to the danger to fetuses and newborns, pregnant women are a major risk group. But so are people with weaker immune systems, whether due to age or a medical condition or a treatment regimen that reduces their body's natural defenses.
The CDC warns that people 65 and older are four times more likely to get listeriosis than others. People with cancer are 10 times more likely and people who need dialysis are 50 times more susceptible.
How is listeria transmitted?
It is a foodborne illness, meaning it is contracted by eating something contaminated with the bacteria. And they are most often found in unpasteurized dairy products and poorly processed meats, says the Mayo Clinic.
How can you avoid getting infected?
First, the CDC recommends not consuming any dairy products manufactured by Rizo Lopez Foods or its customers. In other words, check the recall list (see below, but also check the FDA's listeria outbreak webpage for updates) and do not consume those products.
If you had any of those products in your refrigerator or freezer, you should disinfect any surfaces or containers they touched, following FDA guidelines for safe handling and cleaning. Otherwise, the tough listeria bacteria will roam surfaces to contaminate other products.
Where have listeria infections been reported?
The 26 cases tracked by the CDC are spread primarily across the southern and western United States. The largest number of cases (8, or 30% of the total) has occurred in California. Arizona and Colorado have seen four cases each, Texas and Tennessee have two reported cases each and six other states have one each.
What products have been recalled?
Rizo López has recalled almost 60 products, most of which are Mexican cheeses and creams under the Tío Francisco, Rizo Bros, Casa Cárdenas and Campesino brands.
Additionally, Rizo López's line of recalled products includes:
- Cotija Cheese, 16-ounce packages from Food City
- Enchilado Cotija Cheese, 16-ounce packages from Food City
- Crema Mexicana, 16-ounce packages from Food City and Santa María, and at San Carlos deli retail counters
- Fresh cheese at the delicatessen counters of San Carlos, El Huache and La Ordena
- Oaxaca Cheese, 16-ounce packages from Food City and at San Carlos deli retail counters
- Panela cheese, 16-ounce packages from Food City and at deli retail counters in San Carlos, Dos Ranchitos and La Ordena
- Cream Cheese, 16-ounce packages from Food City and at San Carlos deli retail counters
- Queso Fresco, Don Francisco 10- and 12-ounce packages, Rio Grande 14-ounce packages, Food City 16-ounce packages, and at retail deli counters in San Carlos, Santa María, and Dos Ranchitos.
- Ricotta cheese, whole and part-skim milk varieties, 15-ounce packages for 365 from Whole Foods Market
But wait, there is more. The FDA on Wednesday released a list of 16 recalled processed foods made in part with Rizo López dairy products. The brands on the list were Bright Farms, Campesino, Casa Cardenas, Dole, Don Francisco, Don Pancho, Dos Ranchitos, El Huache, Food City, Fresh & Ready Foods, Fresh Express, HEB, Jack & Olive, La Ordena, Marketside, Maverick Foods, President's Choice, Ready Pac Bistro, Rio Grande, Rizo Bros, Rojo's, San Carlos, Santa Maria, Sprig & Sprout, Perfect Bite Co., Tio Francisco, Trader Joe's and 365 Whole Foods Market. Some of the 16 items were sold by various brands.
Some supermarkets also sold unbranded taco kits, wraps and meals that included recalled Rizo López cheeses. These were Albertsons, Bristol Farms, Carrs-Safeway, Costco, Eagle, Lucky, Pavilions, Randalls, Safeway, Save Mart, Shaw's, Sprouts, Star Market, Stater Bros. Markets, Tom Thumb and Vons.
