Cheese recalled over health concerns; Bocconcini may be contaminated

September 9, 2004
The Toronto Star
By Robert Cribb

Potentially contaminated cheese posing a serious health risk made its way into retail stores and restaurants across the GTA in recent weeks, health officials say.

Morra Cheese of Gormley is voluntarily recalling all bocconcini soft cheese it manufactured between Aug. 24 and Sept. 2 after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency issued a public warning last week.

The story says that the cheese was sold in unlabelled packages from at least three stores - the Morra Cheese retail shop at 11691 Warden Ave., Garden Basket at 9275 Highway 48 in Markham and Lady York Foods at 2939 Dufferin St. in Toronto.

Local health officials were cited as saying the cheese has also been traced to a number of restaurants.

Provincial officials have shut down the plant pending the results a licensing hearing tomorrow in Guelph.

Dr. Tom Baker, director of the ministry's food inspection branch was cited as saying the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food is seeking a licence suspension against Morra Cheese at that hearing, adding, "This is extremely rare to have a situation like this and we're getting to the bottom of it.

It's the first case I can recall in Ontario of a licensed facility running into this situation."

The story says that no one from Morra Cheese returned calls from the Star yesterday.

Baker was further cited as saying that provincial ministry investigators have conducted an investigation that has prompted concerns about the milk used in the plant's cheese, adding, "There were findings there that makes me question the effectiveness of the pasteurization."

The story explains that like many Ontario cheese plants, Morra buys so-called "raw" milk and pasteurizes it using its own equipment. It is illegal to sell or use unpasteurized milk in Ontario. Unpasteurized milk can contain bacteria including salmonella and listeria, Baker said.

The story says that so far, health officials are aware of one illness related to the cheese - a person from British Columbia who bought cheese from the plant in April and ate it in July.

Baker was further quoted as saying the person "became ill and they diagnosed it as listeriosis and identified bacteria in some of the cheese that was left over."

The story also notes that the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Health Unit is investigating food-borne illness following an Aug. 28 pig roast in Grand Valley.

Two people who attended the roast have been diagnosed with E. coli O157 bacteria. Health officials are urging anyone in attendance to seek medical help.