More than 1.5 million bags of shredded cheese have been recalled because they may contain metal pieces.
The U.S. Food & Drug Administration issued an update to a previous voluntary recall by the Great Lakes Cheese Co. Inc. of Hiram, Ohio. The company said its products may be contaminated with metal fragments, which may cause internal injuries if eaten.
On Monday, the FDA reclassified the recall’s risk level to “Class II” to note that consuming the products “may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences.” The FDA urged consumers to throw away the affected products, including cheeses that may be stored in freezers, or to return to them to stores for a refund.
The recall includes five different styles of shredded cheese sold at Aldi, Target, Walmart and other major retailers under multiple names including store brands. They were shipped and sold in multiple states including Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and Puerto Rico.
According to NBC, the list of recalled cheeses includes:
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Always Save Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella CheeseBorden Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella CheeseBorden Thick Cut Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella CheeseBrookshire’s Finely Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella CheeseBrookshire’s Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella CheeseBrookshire’s Thick Cut Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella CheeseCache Valley Creamery Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella CheeseChestnut Hill Fancy Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella CheeseCoburn Farms Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella CheeseEcono Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella CheeseFood Club Finely Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella CheeseFood Club Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella CheeseFood Lion Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella CheeseGold Rush Creamery Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella CheeseGood & Gather Fine Cut Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella CheeseGood & Gather Classic Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella CheeseGreat Lakes Cheese Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella CheeseGreat Lakes Cheese Finely Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella CheeseHappy Farms by Aldi Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella CheeseH-E-B Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella CheeseH-E-B Thick Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella CheeseH-E-B Shredded/Fancy Finamente Rallado Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella CheeseHill Country Fare Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella CheeseKnow & Love Fine Cut Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella CheeseKnow & Love Classic Cut Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella CheeseKnow & Love Thick Cut Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella CheeseLaura Lynn Finely Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella CheeseLaura Lynn Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella CheeseLaura Lynn Thick Cut Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella CheeseLucerne Dairy Farms Finely Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella CheeseLucerne Dairy Farms Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella CheeseLucerene Dairy Farms Rustic Cut Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella CheeseNu Farm Fancy Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella CheesePubix Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella CheeseSchuck’s Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella CheeseSimply Go Classic Cut Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella CheeseSimply Go Rustic Cut Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella CheeseSprouts Farmers Market Finely Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella CheeseSprouts Farmers Market Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella CheeseStatre Bros. Markets Finely Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella CheeseStater Bros. Markets Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella CheeseSunnyside Farms Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese
Shredded Italian-Style Cheese
Happy Farms by Aldi Italian-Style Shredded CheeseBrookshire’s Italian 6 Cheese Finely ShreddedCache Valley Creamery Six Cheese Italian Finely ShreddedCoburn Farms Italian Style Finely ShreddedGreat Value Italian Style Finely ShreddedKnow & Love Italian Style Fine CutLaura Lynn Italian Blend Finely ShreddedPublix Italian Six Cheese Blend Fancy ShreddedSimply Go Italian Style Six Cheese Blend Fine Cut Shredded
Shredded Pizza-Style Cheese
Food Club Finely Shredded Pizza Style Four Cheese BlendEcono Pizza ShreddedFood Club Pizza Style Two Cheese Blend Finely ShreddedFood Club Pizza Style Two Cheese Blend ShreddedGold Rush Creamery Pizza Blend ShreddedGreat Value Pizza Blend ShreddedLaura Lynn Pizza Blend Finely ShreddedSimply Go Pizza Blend Two Cheese Mix Classic Cut Shredded
Mozzarella and Provolone Shredded Cheese Blend
Freedom’s Choice Pizza Blend Fine-CutGood & Gather Mozzarella & Provolone ClassicGreat Lakes Cheese Mozzarella & Provolone ShreddedGreat Value Provolone & Mozzarella Blend Shredded
Mozzarella and Parmesan Shredded Cheese Blend
Good & Gather Mozzarella & Parmesan Shredded Cheese Blend
More details, including product sizes, UPCs and best-by dates are available at fda.gov.
No injuries have been reported.
In a statement Wednesday, Great Lakes Cheese said it “immediately isolated the affected raw material in our facilities and took action to remove packaged goods containing this item.” All recalled products have been removed from stores and replaced with new products that are safe to consume and not associated with the recall, the company said.
“While the status of the recall is marked as ongoing in the enforcement report, our records show all product has been fully removed from store shelves,” Great Lakes Cheese said. “Any households with any of the affected items from October in their refrigerators or freezers should discard the product or return it to the store where it was purchased for a refund.”
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