Protecting families from contaminated food and water
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Protecting families from contaminated food and water
Posted in Listeria,Our Blog on May 5, 2025
Guidance for preventing Listeria infection just got an overhaul. Likely due to both recent and historic issues with soft cheeses.
While most of the guidance for high-risk foods remains the same, recommendations on soft cheeses just got a bit more conservative.
But first, what is Listeria and who is most at risk?
Listeria monocytogenes is the bacteria responsible for listeriosis. It causes a serious infection and is often associated with contaminated food. Which is the focus of most of the updated Listeria guidance.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates around 1,600 people become sick with listeriosis each year. About 260 of those die from the illness.
While anyone can become infected with Listeria, most normally healthy people do not become seriously ill. There are certain groups, however, that are more at risk of becoming sick or experiencing more severe illness. The bulk of the updated guidance for preventing Listeria infection focuses on these groups.
High-risk groups include:
Pregnant people are 10 times more likely to become infected with Listeria bacteria than the general population. If the person is also Hispanic, the risk is 24 times greater, as the most susceptible food (queso fresco-type cheeses) are more likely to be consumed.
Listeria bacteria cause a complicated range of symptoms. These symptoms, like most bacterial infections, can cause either mild or severe illnesses. But Listeria infections have an added complication in how they impact those who are pregnant.
One of the most common symptom profiles of Listeria illness involves intestinal illness. This type of illness impacts the digestive system.
Common symptoms include vomiting and diarrhea beginning within 24 hours and often resolves within three days.
Most people with intestinal listeriosis do not need medical attention or antibiotic treatment.
In some cases, intestinal listeriosis can evolve to more invasive illnesses.
Listeria bacteria cause invasive illness when they leave the digestive system and enter other parts of the body. Invasive listeriosis affects pregnant people and non-pregnant people in different ways. For both categories, invasive illness symptoms usually begin about two weeks after exposure.
While personal symptoms of invasive listeriosis are milder in pregnant people, the impact on the pregnancy is the greatest risk. Someone who is pregnant and experiencing invasive listeriosis may have fever, fatigue, and muscle aches. When pregnant, invasive listeriosis can lead to still birth, premature delivery, miscarriage, or life-threatening infection in the newborn.
Those who are not pregnant have a higher risk of serious illness or death. Invasive listeriosis in non-pregnant people often includes headaches, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and convulsions. Some may also experience fever and/or muscle aches. This infection can be serious or even life-threatening. 1 in 20 nonpregnant people with invasive listeriosis will die from their illness.
While unpasteurized dairy products, including soft cheeses have always been on the “avoid at all costs” list, recent outbreaks involving queso fresco-style cheeses have changed the agency’s stance on the popular cheese product.
In addition to the tragic, long-time Listeria outbreak that was finally linked to Rizo-López Foods, epidemiological studies on queso fresco-style cheeses and U.S. outbreak data have made recommendations for soft cheese much more conservative.
Over the last 10 years, there have been five significant outbreaks associated with soft cheeses.
In 2024, an outbreak linked to Rizo-López Foods queso fresco and cotija cheese sickened at least 26 people across 11 states. This outbreak included 23 hospitalizations and two deaths.
In 2021, an outbreak linked to El Abuelito Cheese Inc queso fresco cheese sickened at least 13 people across four states. This outbreak included 12 hospitalizations and one death.
In 2017, an outbreak linked to Vulto Creamery soft raw milk cheese sickened at least eight people across four states. This outbreak causes eight hospitalizations and two deaths.
In 2014, an outbreak linked to Oasis Brands, Inc quesito casero cheese sickened at least five people across four states. This outbreak caused four hospitalizations and one death. Three of the illnesses were related to a pregnancy and one was a newborn.
In 2014, an outbreak linked to Roos Foods queso fresco cheese sickened at least eight people across two states. This outbreak caused seven hospitalization and one death.
While some of the above outbreaks included unpasteurized dairy products. Not all of them were. This was a major factor in changing the recommendations for high-risk groups and queso fresco-type soft cheeses.
Now, people in higher risk groups should avoid any unheated queso fresco-type cheese. Even if it is made with pasteurized milk.
A change from previous guidance that indicated only unpasteurized milk as an elevated risk.
The guidance does allow for safe consumption of these soft cheeses, provided they are “heated, cooked, or grilled before eating to 165° F or until steaming hot.”
In addition to heating the cheese, the CDC also recommends you wash your hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds after handling these cheeses.
You may be wondering what makes queso fresco-style cheese different from American or Cheddar. Why is this type of cheese more risky than others?
It all comes down to the way that the cheese is produced.
Queso fresco-style cheeses are, well, “fresh.”
They do not undergo a significant aging process. A process that often kills Listeria bacteria in other types of cheese. They are also a dangerous combination of high-moisture with low-acidity. Ideal conditions for Listeria bacterial growth.
Unpasteurized queso fresco-type cheeses have the added vulnerability of being more likely to contain Listeria or other germs like E. coli or Campylobacter.
Other food guidance provides lower risk alternatives to high-risk foods.
For example, hot dogs and luncheon meats should be avoided by high-risk groups, unless they are thoroughly reheated. Instead, the CDC recommends heating them to an internal temperature of 165° F
Also, refrigerated pâtés are considered risky for those in high-risk groups. Canned or shelf-stable options should be considered instead.
When it comes to smoked seafood, refrigerated options should be avoided. Unless they are cooked in a dish, such as a casserole. You can identify them as “nova-style,” “lox,” “kippered,” “smoked,” and sometimes “jerky.” Alternatives for high-risk groups should be canned or shelf stable.
With other foods, like romaine lettuce, mangoes, and packaged salads routinely recalled due to outbreaks, could we see additional updated guidance? This is completely possible.
If you’d like to know more about food safety topics in the news, like “Updated Guidance for Preventing Listeria Infection Includes Changes on Soft Cheeses,” check out the Make Food Safe Blog. We regularly update trending topics, foodborne infections in the news, recalls, and more! Stay tuned for quality information to help keep your family safe, while The Lange Law Firm, PLLC strives to Make Food Safe!
By: Heather Van Tassell (contributing writer, non-lawyer)