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Whole Foods Recalls Cheese From 9 Stores For Listeria Concern

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Taylor Rock|

Whole Foods is voluntarily recalling Explorateur French Triple Crème cheese from nine stores in New Mexico, Texas, Arkansas, Illinois, Connecticut, and New Jersey because the product may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, according to a press release from the Food and Drug Administration. According to the April 9 release, the issue was discovered after Whole Foods was contacted by a distributor, who found the cheese was tainted by the potentially fatal bacterium.

The product is labeled under three separate names: Explorateur, Explorateur French Triple Crème Cheese, and Explorateur Triple Crème French Cheese. Each variation is cut and packaged in clear plastic wrap or sold in branded 8-ounce portions. All cheese had "sell by" dates of 2/15/2018 through 4/3/2018.

Customers who purchased this cheese are urged to throw it out. Those wishing for compensation can bring a receipt into the store for a full refund. A full list of affected locations and PLU codes can be found on the FDA's website.

Healthy people infected with listeriosis — the infection caused by Listeria monocytogenes —  might experience flu-like symptoms; however, pregnant women could suffer miscarriages or stillbirths. The elderly and those with weakened immune systems might not be able to fight off the illness at all. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 1,600 people contact the infection each year, and about 260 die.

No illnesses have been reported to date in relation to Whole Foods' latest recall, but we can't say the same about these 11 times chain restaurants gave people food poisoning.

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