Last month, Estrella Family Creamery, who has a booth at the Ballard Farmers Market, recalled its Red Darla cheese because, ““it has the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems,” the FDA release stated.
Now, the FDA is recalling their Old Apple Tree Tomme for the same reason. The cheese was sold at the Ballard and U-District farmers markets the weekend of Feb. 27 and 28, 2010. So far no one has reported getting sick. “The recall is the result of continued sampling by the state of Washington Department of Agriculture, which revealed that one wheel of the finished product contained the Listeria monocytogenes bacteria,” this current FDA release. states.
If you purchased Old Apple Tree Tomme, you can return it to where you bought it for a full refund. If you have questions you can contact the company at 360-249-6541.
that's a little scary.
this isn't exactly toyota–these small recalls usually go un-noticed by consumers.
remind me never to buy cheese from an outdoor stand.
There is a reason for buying food processed and wrapped in plastic from a supermarket- so you don't get sick.
A bunch of Tim's chips just got recalled on Monday, talk about processed plastic wrapped supermarket food.
Have you looked at this list?
feed://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/ContactFDA/StayInformed/RSSFeeds/FoodSafety/rss.xml
FDA recalls hit all sizes of companies – looks like Trader Joe's had one on Feb 25.
Doesn't exactly encourage folks to buy from them. I hope they get whatever is going wrong with their processes figured out in short order.
I've refrained from buying their product, I can't justify the cost.
You'd really expect buying local product at a premium would down right guarantee a safe product. Those that think that way may rethink, and go with Tillamook.
Meh. I'm neither young nor old nor pregnant nor immunocompromised. They make good cheese. I'll still eat it. It's a bummer for them though, people see FDA recall and freak out, when as it says above nobody got sick and they found it in one cheese wheel. Meanwhile there's industry 'voluntary testing' of feedlot beef and chicken… That's way more scary to me than listeria in some unpasteurized artisan cheese.
Wow, that's got to be awfully tough on the Estrella family. I'll bet that this recall has effected all of the people with cheeses for sale at the market. I probably couldn't remember which creamery is was if I hadn't typed the name.
Hm. Maybe I'll go try to find something I can buy from them just to help them through this tough time. (No, it's not just an excuse to buy cheese! How could you *think* such a thing!)
It says no one has 'reported' getting sick. Seriously, the difference between illness, and the report of illness are voluminous in the real world. They may have thought it was ANYTHING else. People will assume that this product would be THE LAST thing that would make them ill. It was the fries at Wendy's, or the smoothie at Jamba Juice…
Once is ok…twice is an issue.
Wow, I bought some of that cheese, but a few weeks before the weekend mentioned. I wish the release was more clear on whether the recall is specific to that weekend's sales.
Having been to their farm, I am not surprised to hear about these recalls. The Cows were all laying around in mud and their own feces with no dry clean place to escape to. The cheese making room, which is visible from the tasting room, was filthy. There was visible dirt and mold on the walls in the tile grout and there were boxes and dirty dishes strewn about. The family is a woman, her husband, and their 4 or 5 adopted children. The kids are all put to work on the farm. I would say they were anywhere from 6-16 yrs old. When we were there, the kids were running the entire operation. (this has drawn a lot of criticism apparently from the local community). Anyways, the kids are probably not old enough or patient enough to put in the effort required to make the cheese in a manner that will keep it from contamination.
snoopy, please. If you have actual evidence that such things are happening, go to the right people. It's easy to log in here and make serious accusations at no risk to you, but what you say can certainly do harm to the vendor in question, and it's also no help to the people who use this blog.
um, i was there. i have eyes. i see things with them. you can go there yourself. they let you walk all over the farm. its gross.
If you have a problem with his report, you can always go look for yourself rather than attacking it without cause.
Wow, sounds very….foul.
I think I'll stick to Tillamook for a few weeks….I' rather have bland cheese than the sh*ts.
blueben +1
you used to jump on reports that lacked proof, nice call.
Uh oh another one:
SEATTLE (Reuters) – Popular meat fabrication and distribution vendor Olde Rufus Family Meat Tyme and Industrial Lubrication of White Center has announced a recall of a variety of their meats this weekend. A spokesman for the agency, who is frequently present at the Ballard Famers Market stated that meat may have been exposed to dog feces, dioxin, tetrodotoxin, listeria, pig aids and mold. A spokesman for the Ballard Farmers Market said that they believe the market continues to provide high quality goods which are sustainable for the community, while vomiting in a wastebasket. The company stated they feel that this tainted meat incident will not tarnish their reputation as they feel they can buy it back with several My Ballard ads and a mural by Henry.
This is really sad. I love their cheese. Presumably these incidents will either force Estrella out of this business or force them to make some changes and tell the community that they're back on track. Either way, I hope to hear about it here.
The Toyotas of cheese…..