Whole Foods is currently recalling a specialty cheese called "Pecorino Aged Cheese in Walnut Leaves" since it has the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, according to an FDA news release issued Tuesday.
The organism can "cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems," the release said.
The FDA added that while in healthy individuals listeria can cause short-term symptoms such as fever, nausea and abdominal pain, it can also lead to miscarriages and still births among pregnant women.
The release added that while no Pecorino cheese-induced illnesses had been reported, if you bought the cheese (its PLU code is 294239), you should "discard it and bring [the] receipt to the store for a full refund."
The only New York Whole Foods location included in the cheese recall is the Bowery location, Whole Foods spokesperson Michael Sinatra confirmed to DNAinfo New York.
Sinatra added that New Yorkers shouldn't be that worried, as "we've since learned from the local specialty team that the recalled product never even made it to Bowery store floor."
The Pecorino scare adds to what has generally been a bad day for cheese: Earlier this morning, Bloomberg ran a story on a company whose "100 percent real parmesan cheese" included wood chips.
