Three different cheese products sold in stores across Ireland have been recalled due to the potential presence of listeria.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland have recalled Cork based Toons Bridge Diary Ricotta, as well as Buffalo Ricotta from the same brand.
Retailers are requested to remove the affected batches from sale and display, while consumers should not eat any of the products.
There have been a number of outbreaks of listeriosis across the country this summer, and Alan Reilly, who is a former Chief Executive of the FSAI says despite this, the public should not be overly concerned
"I think the food chain has never been safer. If you look at the data from the Food Safety Authority, we haven't had any increase in the numbers of alerts or recalls so far this year, very similar to last year. Tens of thousands of these foods are eaten every week in Ireland, so they are essentially a very safe food"
Statement from Toons Bridge Dairy :
"A 10.5kg batch of our buffalo ricotta was found to contain Listeria monocytogenes. As a small family-run dairy, the health and wellbeing of our customers is our top priority. In response, we made the decision to recall all batches of both cow and buffalo ricotta — not just the affected batch — as a precautionary measure to ensure complete customer safety.
Thanks to the swift action and support of the Department of Agriculture and our dedicated team, we were able to respond quickly and decisively.
We have and are conducting extensive testing across our facility and are confident that the issue was isolated to a damaged shelf within the dedicated ricotta fridge. The shelves have been replaced, and additional sanitation protocols have been introduced to prevent any recurrence. We are continuing to produce (with daily batch testing) our other products as the incident was confined to a designated area specifically for ricotta.
To our loyal customers — thank you for your patience, understanding, and continued support. Your trust means everything to us, and we remain committed to providing you with the highest quality, safe, and delicious dairy products."
