The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued an update about a recall impacting bags of shredded cheese sold at popular grocery stores including Aldi, Target and Walmart, with the agency saying more than 260,000 cases of the products could potentially contain metal fragments.
The recall comes after another dairy recall involving hundreds of gallons of Prairie Farms milk sold at grocery stores in Illinois and Wisconsin. According the FDA, the recall was initiated because the cartons may be contaminated with a “food-grade cleaning agent.”
The Ohio-based Great Lakes Cheese Co. initially issued a recall on Oct. 3. On Dec. 1, the FDA reclassified the recall under “Class II,” which means consuming the product could temporarily cause adverse but treatable or reversible health consequences.
The cheese was sold across the U.S. in more than 30 states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and Puerto Rico, the report said.
The bags of cheese, which include popular blends like mozzarella, Italian style, four cheese, pizza and more, were sold under a variety of brand names and with different best-by dates. They also came in various sizes including eight ounce, 12 ounce, 16 ounce, 32 ounce and more.
The FDA urges consumers who purchased the affected products not to eat them. Consumers should throw away the products — including any they may have placed in their freezers — or return the products to the place of purchase for a refund.
A press release from Great Lakes Cheese said it immediately took action and instructed retailers to remove the products from shelves.
“When we were confident all recalled products had been removed from store shelves, we distributed new product that did not have the potential to contain foreign material and was safe,” the release said.
Many of the recalled products can be found below. A full list can be found in the FDA’s enforcement report here.
Low moisture part-skim shredded mozzarella cheese:
Always Save Shredded
Borden – Shredded
Borden – Thick Cut
Brookshire’s Finley Shredded
Cache Valley Creamery Shredded
Chestnut Hill Fancy Shredded
Coburn Farms Shredded
Econo Shredded
Food Club Finley Shredded
Food Club Shredded
Food Lion Shredded
Gold Rush Creamery Shredded
Good & Gather Fine Cut
Good & Gather Classic
Great Lakes Cheese Shredded
Great Value Finley Shredded
Great Value Shredded
Happy Farms by Aldi – Shredded
H-E-B – Shredded
H-E-B – Thick
Hill Country Fare Shredded
Know & Love Fine Cut
Know & Love Classic Cut
Know & Love Thick Cut
Laura Lynn Finley Shredded
Laura Lynn Shredded
Laura Lynn Thick Cut Shredded
Lucerne Dairy Farms Finely Shredded
Lucerne Shredded
Lucerne Rustic Cut
Nu Farm Fancy Shredded
Publix Shredded
Schnuck’s Shredded
Simply Go – Classic Cut Shredded
Simply Go – Rustic Cut Shredded
Sprouts Farmers Market Finley Shredded
Stater Bros. Markets Finley Shredded
Stater Bros. Markets Shredded
Sunnyside Farms Shredded
Italian style shredded cheese blend:
Happy Farms by Aldi
Brookshire’s Italian Six Cheese, Finely Shredded
Cache Valley Creamery Six Cheese Italian, Finley Shredded
Coburn Farms Italian Style, Finley Shredded
Great Value Italian Style, Finley Shredded
Know & Love Italian Style, Finley Shredded
Know & Love Italian Style, Fine Cut
Laura Lynn Italian Blend, Finley Shredded
Publix Italian Six Cheese Blend, Fancy Shredded
Simply Go Italian Style Six Cheese Blend, Fine Cut Shredded
Pizza style shredded cheese blend:
Food Club Finley Shredded Pizza Style Four Cheese Blend
Econo Pizza Shredded
Food Club Pizza Style Two Cheese Blend, Finley Shredded
Mozzarella shredded cheese blend:
Freedom’s Choice Pizza Blend Fine Cut
Good & Gather Mozzarella and Provolone Classic
Great Lakes Cheese – Mozzarella & Provolone Shredded
Great Value Provolone & Mozzarella Blend Shredded
Good & Gather Mozzarella & Parmesan Shredded Cheese Blend, Fine Cut
NBC Chicago has reached out to Great Lakes Cheese Co. for a statement.
Dining and Cooking