Cheeses from Western Mass. farm recalled due to potential listeria contamination

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Health officials are recalling two different types of cheeses from a Western Massachusetts farm due to potential listeria contamination.

Cricket Creek Farm in Williamstown is recalling all Sophelise and Tobasi cheeses distributed in Massachusetts and New York between March 29, 2023 and May 26, 2023, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH).

The FDA says the products were sold at Wild Oats, Provisions Williamstown, and the Cricket Creek Farm Store.

Sophelise is a washed, pasteurized milk cheese with a soft rind and pinkish hue, packaged with a round blue label in semi-transparent packaging.

Tobasi is a washed raw milk cheese with an orange rind and creamy interior. If you bought it at Cricket Creek Farm, it would be wrapped in clear packaging with a gray and orange label, according to health officials. However, Tobasi found in retail stores are sold in small rectangular cuts and sometimes wholesale, which is a square shape roughly 8″x8″ and 1.25 inches tall.

Officials say listeria monocytogenes is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections such as sepsis, meningitis, or encephalitis.

Anyone with the recalled cheeses in their homes is urged to throw them away in a closed plastic bag and to wash the refrigerator or draw the cheese was stored in.

The Sophelise and Tobasi product labels are 087055 and 315, 341, and 048 respectively.

Any of these products can be returned to the place of purchase for a full refund, according to the DPH. Consumers with questions can call the company at 413-458-5888.

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