Sargento Cheese recall 2024: List of products, affected states, and all you need to know amid Listeria fears

Wisconsin cheese company Sargento Foods recalled all its products supplied by Rizo-Lopez Foods, Inc. This comes after the California-based company's February 5 recall of its cheese products following an outbreak of listeria. Listeria is a bacterial infection that predominantly affects pregnant women, newborn children, people with weak immune systems, and people over the age of 65.

According to Forbes, the FDA urged citizens of 15 states in the country to get rid of shredded cotija, parmesan, white cheddar, and other cheeses from Sargento. However, Sargento released a statement on Thursday, March 7, revealing that company-branded products were not affected by the outbreak, but the company decided to recall products supplied by Rizo-Lopez Foods and packaged along the same lines out of an abundance of caution.

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Sargento and the Rizo-Lopez Foods listeria outbreak product recall saga

According to a Forbes report on Thursday, March 7, the FDA requested consumers get rid of Sargento cheese products due to a potential listeria contamination risk. The outlet reported that products with a use-by date beginning from February 5 to July 2024 were affected by the outbreak.

The types of cheese products affected included cotija, parmesan, white cheddar, asiago cheese, swiss, shredded quesadilla cheese, Italian cheese, taco cheese, fancy shredded blend, and Monterey jack. The recall reportedly affected 15 different states.

According to the FDA, these potentially contaminated products were sold in Wisconsin, Washington, Florida, California, Indiana, Illinois, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, New Jersey, Ohio, Rhode Island, Maryland, Nevada, and Texas.

On February 5, Rizo-López Foods recalled its yogurt, cheese, and sour cream products after the FDA found them to be related to listeriosis contamination and the resultant listeria outbreak. A February 22 article from the FDA listed the variety of brand names these products were sold under. These were:

"Bright Farms, Campesino, Casa Cardenas, Dole, Don Francisco, Don Pancho, Dos Ranchitos, El Huache, Food City, Fresh & Ready Foods, Fresh Express, H-E-B, Jack & Olive, La Ordena, Marketside, Maverick Foods, President’s Choice, Ready Pac Bistro, Rio Grande, Rizo Bros, Rico, Rojos, San Carlos, Santa Maria, Sprig & Sprout (S&S), The Perfect Bite Co., Tio Francisco, Trader Joe’s, and 365 Whole Foods Market."

There were also a few retailers where these products were sold as unbranded meals, wraps, and taco kits. These retailers were:

"Albertsons, Bristol Farms, Carrs-Safeway, Costco, Eagle, Lucky, Pavilions, Randalls, Safeway, Save Mart, Shaw's, Sprouts (S&S), Star Market, Stater Bros. Markets, Tom Thumb, and Vons."

Sargento released a statement on March 7 revealing that Sargento-branded products were not affected by the Rizo-López Foods recalls. After an internal investigation, the company stated that it only affected a limited amount of its ingredients and food service products. However, they still decided to recall their products supplied by Rizo-López Foods. The statement read:

"Out of an abundance of caution, Sargento immediately made the decision to voluntarily recall the products that were supplied by Rizo-Lopez Foods, Inc. and products that were packaged on the same lines."

The company further revealed that the company's relationship with Rizo-Lopez Foods, Inc. was terminated, and the business customers who were affected were immediately notified. The FDA states that the current Rizo-Lopez Foods listeria outbreak led to two deaths, 26 illnesses, and 23 hospitalizations across 11 states.