Food Safety Authority recalls Cork-produced cheeses over listeria fears

The Toons Bridge products affected by the recall notice. Picture: FSAI

Two types of cheese produced by Cork's Toons Bridge Dairy have been recalled by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) over the possible presence of Listeria monocytogenes.

Two batches each of Toons Bridge's Dairy Ricotta and Dairy Buffalo Ricotta are affected by the recall.

The affected batches are:

• Toons Bridge Dairy Ricotta - 200g & 1 kg - with the expiry dates 28/08/2025, 29/08/2025, 30/08/2025, 31/08/2025, 01/09/2025, 04/09/2025, 05/09/2025;
• Toons Bridge Dairy Buffalo Ricotta - 200g & 1 kg - with the expiry dates - 28/08/2025, 29/08/2025, 30/08/2025, 01/09/2025, 04/09/2025, 05/09/2025.

The FSAI is requesting retailers remove the implicated batches from sale and display recall notices at point-of-sale. 

Wholesalers and distributors have been requested to contact their affected customers and recall the implicated batches and provide a point-of-sale recall notice to their retailer customers while customers who have purchased the affected products have been advised not to eat them.

According to the FSAI, symptoms of Listeria monocytogenes infection can include mild flu-like symptoms, or gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. In rare cases, the infection can be more severe, causing serious complications. 

Some people are more vulnerable to Listeria monocytogenes infections, including pregnant women, babies, and people with weakened immune systems, including the elderly. The incubation period, that is, the time between initial infection and first symptoms appearing, is on average three weeks but can range between three and 70 days.

What's your view on this issue?

You can tell us here

The FSAI also said that there is currently "no evidence" that the Toons Bridge product recall is linked in any way to the recent listeriosis outbreak related to ready meals sold nationwide, or the recall of spinach and mixed leaves products from supermarkets last month.

Thursday's recall notice is the second issued by the FSAI about cheese products over the past 24 hours. On Wednesday, the FSAI issued a recall notice relating to 150g packs of Gillot cru Petit Camembert due to the possible presence of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC).

STEC, also known as verocytotoxigenic E. coli (VTEC), are a specific group of E. coli. The FSAI said that while most E. coli are harmless and live in the intestines of healthy humans, STEC produces a powerful toxin that can cause severe illness.

Symptoms include abdominal cramps and diarrhoea, which is sometimes bloody. Usually, there is little or no fever, and patients recover within five to 10 days. 

In some cases, however, particularly in children under five years of age and the elderly, the infection can cause a complication called haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS), in which the red blood cells are destroyed and the kidneys can stop working properly. The time between the initial infection and the first symptoms appearing is typically between three and four days but can range between one and eight days.

As with Thursday's recall, anyone who has purchased affected items has been advised not to eat them, and retailers have been requested to remove the implicated batch from sale and display notices at point-of-sale.