Cricket Creek Cheese Listeria Recall, Illness Reported [Updated]

Updated June 13 to reflect a recall expansion Cricket Creek Farm of Williamstown, MA has expanded a Listeria recall for Sophelise and Tobasi cheeses to include one lot of Berkshire Bloom. One hospitalization has been reported.

After the illness was reported, products the customer had purchased were tested by Biotrax Testing Laboratory. Tests showed one batch of Sophelise cheese and three batches of Tobasi cheese were positive for Listeria monocytogenes. Berkshire Bloom did not test positive for Listeria, but records showed it did not reach a high enough temperature during production to kill bacteria.

Symptoms of a Listeria infection include high fever, severe headache, stiff neck, other muscle stiffness, nausea, diarrhea, confusion, and loss of balance. These symptoms usually develop within 24 hours of exposure, but sometimes they can take as long as 70 days to appear. Among pregnant women, Listeria can cause miscarriages and stillbirths.

Cricket Creek Cheese Listeria Recall

The recalled cheese was sold in Massachusetts and New York at the following locations:

• Wild Oats, Williamstown, MA
• Provisions Williamstown, Williamstown, MA;
• McEnroe Organic Farm Market, Millerton, NY
• New Lebanon Farmers Market; New Lebanon, NY,
• Restaurants, and farmers markets in both states

Recalled Sophelise

Sophelise is a “washed, pasteurized milk cheese with a soft rind and pinkish hue.”

• Sold in rounds 4 inches in diameter and 1-inch think.
• Packaging is semi-transparent with a round blue label.
• Distributed between March 29, 2023 and May 26, 2023.

Recalled Tobasi

Tobasi is a “washed raw-milk cheese with an orange rind and creamy interior.”

• Product code 315, 341, 048
• Sold retail in small rectangular cuts.
• Sold wholesale in 8-inch squares that are 1.25 inches thick.
• Distributed between March 26, 2023, to May 26, 2023.

Recalled Berkshire Bloom

Berkshire Bloom cheese is a camembert-style, bloomy rind cheese.

• The circular cheese measures 4 inches in diameter and roughly 1.25 inches tall.
• Sold in white cheese paper with a blue label.
• Product code 076
• Distributed between April 20, 2023, and May 12, 2023.