Sargento announced in a press release today that not only is the company expanding its recall of cheese products due to Listeria, but it’s also terminating its relationship with the supplier, Deutsch Kase Haus.
The recall started on February 11 and has been expanding ever since, impacting a wide variety of cheese products as well as secondary products containing cheese from Deutsch Kase Haus.
Sargento CEO Louie Gentine commented in the release: “We deeply regret any inconvenience or concern this issue has caused. We have high expectations for the quality and safety of our products and hold our suppliers accountable to those same standards. We will continue to evaluate our processes to ensure we remain a leader in food safety and quality.”
This is the first massively expanding Listeria-related recall we’ve seen so far this year. But last year, there were several of them, a couple of which led to the suppliers going out of business. California-based contract manufacturer Dr. Bob’s of Upland closed its doors after Listeria discovered at its facility led to recalls of several brands of ice cream. And earlier this month, Aspen Hills shut down after Listeria found in its cookie dough led to yet another recall of Blue Bell ice cream products.
This all goes to show how seriously the industry is taking food safety. Especially with FSMA and increased FDA inspections, the survival of producers and processors along the entire supply chain depends on it.
