- Products include Green Chicken Enchiladas and Cilantro Salad Dressing.
- It comes as Rizo-Lopez Foods recalled several dairy products earlier this week.
- READ MORE: CDC warns of listeria outbreak in cheese sold at Whole Foods
Trader Joe’s has recalled four cotija cheese products that may be contaminated with listeria.
It comes after the CDC warned Americans about a listeria outbreak linked to dairy products sold across the country that has killed two people.
Trader Joe’s has recalled its Green Chicken Enchiladas, Cilantro Salad Dressing, Chopped Corn Salad Kit, and Southwest Salad, all of which contain cotija cheese.
The announcement is linked to an FDA recall of Rizo-Lopez Foods dairy products, including contaminated cheese, cream and yogurt.
Trader Joe’s has recalled its Green Chicken Enchiladas, Cilantro Salad Dressing, Chopped Corn Salad Kit, and Southwest Salad, all of which contain cotija cheese.
Americans in 11 states fell ill and two died. The deaths occurred in California and Texas.
The products are sold in several major supermarket chains, including Food City and Whole Foods.
The CDC says 26 Americans have fallen ill and 23 have been hospitalized in 11 states. Two deaths have been reported: one in California and one in Texas.
Trader Joe’s recommended customers throw away the recalled products or return them to a store for a full refund.
Listeria is an infection usually caused by eating foods contaminated with the bacteria listeria monocytogenes.
Most people who eat foods contaminated with Listeria will not become seriously ill. But in some cases it can cause confusion and seizures, miscarriages in pregnant women, and even death.
This can happen when the infection spreads beyond the intestine and can affect the central nervous system, which can cause numbness and seizures.
The CDC estimates that 1,600 Americans become infected with listeria each year and about 260 die.
Symptoms include fever, muscle aches, tiredness, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, or seizures.
Earlier this week, the agency recalled 61 products, including cheese, yogurt and sour cream, sold under 13 brand names, including 365 Whole Foods Market and Food City.
The items in question were sold between June 2014 and December 2023.
The agency urged people to throw away any affected products, clean the refrigerator and surfaces, and call a health care provider immediately if they experience any symptoms.
Data collected by the CDC asked people who were sick about the foods they had eaten within a month of getting sick, although not all patients were surveyed. The agency says it is still conducting interviews.
Of the 22 patients interviewed, 16 (73 percent) reported eating fresh cheese, cotija, or other similar cheeses.
The patients ranged in age from less than one year to 88 years, and the average age was 52 years.
About 58 percent of the sick were women and 42 percent were men.
The majority of those affected (71 percent) were white. Five percent were American Indian or Alaska Native, and 24 percent reported another race.
Additionally, 85 percent reported being Hispanic.
Among those who remembered specific brands, three who became ill between 2014 and 2022 reported the Don Francisco brand of cheese.