Why Virginia Seniors Should Check Their Fridge for This Recalled Cheese Now

There’s a recall worth your attention this week, and it lands close to home.

A Listeria outbreak tied to a soft cheese has sickened people across Virginia and two neighboring states, and the people most at risk are folks over 65.

Here’s what you need to know, and why it’s worth a look in your refrigerator today.

What’s Being Recalled

The recall covers requeson, a soft cheese similar to ricotta, made by Clover Hill Dairy of Mechanicsville, Maryland.

It applies to all requeson and soft ricotta products from that dairy.

Some come plain, others carry jalapeño or different flavors.

Testing during the outbreak investigation found Listeria in the cheese, and the dairy issued a voluntary recall in early June.

Maryland health authorities went a step further and suspended the dairy’s operating license while they investigate.

The trouble is that this cheese doesn’t always reach you under the Clover Hill name, which makes it harder to spot in your own kitchen.

Why This One Is Serious

This isn’t a labeling mix-up or a stray bit of packaging. It’s Listeria, one of the more dangerous germs in the food supply.

Federal officials have linked the outbreak strain to eight illnesses across three states.

Of those, seven people landed in the hospital, and one person died.

The investigation stretches back years, with cases collected as far back as 2023, which tells you this strain has lingered.

Listeria isn’t like the stomach bugs that pass in a day or two.

It can turn severe, above all in older adults.

That’s why a cheese recall that might sound minor deserves a careful second look from anyone in the at-risk group.

Health officials describe this as a multi-year outbreak, meaning the same strain has surfaced again and again over time.

That pattern is part of why regulators moved fast once they traced it back to the dairy.

Why Virginia Is on the List

Clover Hill Dairy is a small operation, but its cheese traveled.

Federal regulators have confirmed it reached Virginia, along with Maryland and New York.

The dairy sells directly from its own market in Maryland, at farmers markets, and through third-party distributors that carry the cheese into Virginia.

Requeson is a staple in many Latin kitchens.

So, it often turns up at farmers markets and Hispanic grocery markets rather than the big chain stores.

If you shop those markets anywhere from Northern Virginia to Richmond to Hampton Roads, this recall could touch your fridge.

Health officials also note the cheese could have traveled beyond the three confirmed states, so the absence of a Virginia label on the carton doesn’t clear it.

Why Seniors Face the Greatest Risk

Listeria saves its worst for a few groups, and adults over 65 sit near the top of the list.

As the body ages, the immune system loses a step, which makes it harder to fight off an infection that a younger person might shrug off.

Federal guidance is blunt on this point.

If you’re 65 or older, the advice is to avoid all queso fresco-type cheeses, including soft ricotta and requeson, until the outbreak is resolved.

That guidance holds whether or not you think your cheese came from the recalled batch.

For an older Virginian, the safe move is to treat this category of soft cheese with caution for now, not to gamble on where a particular tub came from.

The same caution applies to anyone in the house with a weakened immune system, whether from a medical condition or a treatment that lowers their defenses.

If you’re caring for a spouse in that situation, the warning is worth heeding on their behalf too.

How to Spot the Recalled Cheese

Start with the label.

The recalled cheese should list the Clover Hill Dairy manufacturer permit number, shown as 24-128.

Because the cheese is sometimes repackaged under a different brand by the store that sells it, that permit number matters more than the name on the front.

Look for soft ricotta or requeson sold in clear tubs, often by the pound, the kind you’d find at a farmers market or a Latin grocery counter.

If a container has no clear manufacturer information and you bought it recently as a loose or repacked soft cheese, you can’t rule it out.

When the label leaves you guessing, the health agencies say the same thing they always do in these cases.

When in doubt, throw it out.

What To Do If It’s In Your Fridge

If you find the recalled cheese, don’t taste it to check.

Listeria gives no warning in smell or flavor.

Instead, throw the cheese away in a sealed bag or return it to the store where you bought it for a refund.

Then clean the spot where it sat. Listeria can survive cold temperatures and spread to other foods and surfaces, so wipe down the shelf, the drawer, and anything the cheese touched.

Use hot, soapy water followed by a sanitizing wipe, and wash your hands afterward.

This step matters more than people expect.

The germ can linger in a refrigerator long after the original food is gone, which is part of what makes Listeria so stubborn.

When you’re done, run an empty dishwasher cycle on the hot setting if any containers went through it, and toss the sponge or rag you used to wipe up.

Better to retire a dollar sponge than to spread the germ around the kitchen.

Symptoms to Watch For

Listeria can take its time.

Symptoms may show up the same day or as long as ten weeks after eating contaminated food, which makes it easy to miss the connection.

Milder cases bring fever, muscle aches, nausea, tiredness, and sometimes diarrhea.

A severe infection looks different and more frightening.

Headache, a stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and convulsions all signal that the illness has turned dangerous.

If you’ve eaten soft cheese recently and any of these appear, call your doctor and mention the recall by name.

Early treatment makes a real difference with Listeria, so it’s far better to make the call and be wrong than to wait it out and hope.

Why It’s Worth Acting Today

Listeria rewards the cautious and punishes the patient. The longer a recalled food sits in your fridge, the more chances it has to spread.

The investigation is also still open.

Federal officials have said more products may be added as testing continues, so the list could grow in the days ahead.

That uncertainty is the case for acting now rather than waiting for a tidier picture.

Check your refrigerator today.

Clear out any soft ricotta or requeson you can’t account for, and hold off on buying more of that style of cheese until the all-clear comes.