Thanks for posting this.

Disturbing. I got the e-mail allert yesterday.

"Retailers may have repackaged bulk Old Europe Cheese items into smaller containers and sold this repackaged product to consumers. This repackaged product may not bear the original labeling and product information. If you are unsure where your Brie or Camembert cheese is from, ask your retailer or throw it away."

Old Europe Cheese, Inc. of Benton Harbor, MI

That sort of says it all. All those 'French' labels mean nothing. If possible, patronize a local cheese shop (which I realize isn't an option for everyone.)

FWIW, I understand Listeria was not found in the cheeses they tested, but it was found in the machinery.

Thanks for posting this and for the good comments.

It seems that every time I turn around there is some new listeria or other pathogen involved recall. Why?

Regarding the repackaged cheese: I am not supposed to partake of this stuff, but I do every now and then. Lately, my weakness is ”Green Peppercorn Brie” from Trader Joe. I am nearly addicted to it, and have added it to my ”About Willing to Die For” list:

Delicious cheese

Lobster with worthy (melted) butter

Steamers (soft shell clams, (Mya arenaria) with quality melted butter

Country Pâté,

Prime Rib (good prime rib)

Steak (good steak)

Quiche (only good stuff)

Other yummy things I rarely if ever consume — yummy egg salad sandwiches, potato chips, spare ribs, ice cream, pastas with creme ;-( ; __ Fish and chips,

Oh, damn! I was born craving rich, salty, fatty, yummy food. No amount of King Oscar sardines and salmon fat can compensate.

I LOVE cheeses.

A chicken liver came with out lastest roaster. I would love to pan fry it in butter and EVOO. Is there any way I can drink a glass of molypohonic antiglycogenic tri-lobate nescoph-flabinolic juice rto rid me of the ”toxins?” I mean, short of swigging turpentine?

"That sort of says it all. All those 'French' labels mean nothing."

Bookwoman, I had exactly the same reaction. What matters is what's inside, not the label, and I've never come upon a US-made "French style" cheese, whatever that is, that's worth eating. We have a local one, the Marin French Cheese Company (how's that for a name). Their stuff is awful.

Whole Foods is a mostly reliable source. They occasionally have an excellent REAL Camembert - not the President brand (which is French but cheap stuff) but the soft, gooey, stinky and properly aged kind. And other better cheeses of other varieties too. And gooey Brie. Upscale markets sometimes have good choices, along with better cheese stores (which can be hard to find for those of us who don't live in what would be called strictly urban settings).

"If possible, patronize a local cheese shop (which I realize isn't an option for everyone.)"

That means nothing with respect to the products they sell -- local cheese shops also buy products from large manufacturers and repackage them without labels, and sometimes write misleading labels (not lying). Sure, it's nice to patronize local small businesses, but don't do it because you think they sell a better product or have a better ability to avoid problems.

That's true too - I've been to small cheese shops that don't have a lot of turnover, where I found cheese that isn't supposed to have mold, with mold.

I'm not into the "patronize your local business" movement. My patronage is earned with the quality and items I want to get, let the best competitor win.

Petalique, I love cheese too! I told my husband who was looking for something in the refrigerator, "It's on the cheese shelf." He replied, "Your cheese shelf looks like that dragon's hoard in "The Hobbit." :-D

Today I bought Fromage d'Affinois, Délice de France Grand Camembert (Kevin's favorite), and Le Délice De Bourgogne, which is my favorite, at Bristol Farms. The first and third are labeled as "Brie", and all are labeled as being made in France. None of these are in the least bit "stinky", but the Délice De Bourgogne has a fragrance similar to Roquefort - the other two are milder.

The only cheese that I like that I would consider "stinky" is Gruyère, and I do not usually have that on hand - only when I make French Onion Soup - but I do also like it in Reuben sandwiches.

My late husband was 'big Cheese" in the blue cheese business....as I recall cheese aged a certain number of days develops enough acidity to kill lysteria. And the deal with Brie is the US laws won't allow French brie to enter unless it has been aged "enough" to be safe....but that gives it a very short shelf life. So a good domestic Brie is most often better than Frence.

Yes, Listeria is a problem with soft cheeses, not aged ones. I recall the warnings against pregnant people eating soft cheese for that reason - it can cause miscarriages.

"Brie is the US laws won't allow French brie to enter unless it has been aged "enough" to be safe....but that gives it a very short shelf life. So a good domestic Brie is most often better than Frence."

The only thing a domestic "brie" has in common with the real thing from France is the name on label. While any food matters depend on personal preferences and taste, for me, I've never had a domestic brie that remotely compared to the real thing. Same is true of other what I'll reluctantly call "French" cheese types made in the US. For that reason, I never buy them.

I once visited a pregnant family member who was living in Europe at the time and I remember distinctly at one restaurant dinner when a cheese cart came to the table, she declined. She said that her doctor had told her there was a risk with some cheeses made from raw (unpasteurized) milk. Rather than asking at such times (as in the restaurant) which was which, she found it easier to cut out cheese during her pregnancy. Maybe it's the raw milk cheeses that are restricted from import to the US?