Maytag Dairy Farms shut down; more products recalled

Maytag Dairy Farms has suspended operations after expanding its voluntary recall of “Maytag Blue” blue cheese wedges, wheels and crumbles because certain lots of those foods have the potential to cause Listeria poisoning.

A statement on the homepage of the Newton company's website says "The Maytag Dairy Farm is closed while we continue work upgrading our facilities."

Ross Parnam of KGlobal, a public relations firm, said consumer safety is Maytag Dairy Farms' top concern.

"Maytag Farms has voluntarily suspended production and distribution while the company collaborates with the Food and Drug Administration and the State of Iowa to determine the cause of the problem," Parnam said.

The dairy farm had already announced two lot recalls earlier in February, expanded its recall on Feb. 26 to include 35 lots of one-, four- and eight-ounce wedges, two- and four-pound wheels and 43 batches of eight-ounce and five-pound crumbles.

This includes the five lots and 15 recalled batches that were announced Feb. 19. Another lot was recalled on Feb. 13.

The recalled product was sold through distributors, wholesalers, retail stores, restaurants and direct mail orders nationwide between Nov. 24, 2015 and Feb. 11, 2016.

Friday morning, Hy-Vee Stores, Inc., announced it was voluntarily recalling Maytag Blue Cheese across its eight-state region.

The lot number or batch number appears on the side or the bottom of each product. Affected products are listed on a news release that can be viewed here: http://bit.ly/1WXPNzB

No illnesses have been reported in connection with this issue.

Customers who have Maytag Dairy Farms products can call 800-247-2458 or 641-791-2010, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Standard Time, to arrange for a full refund and return of the product.

The potential for contamination was discovered after testing by state officials revealed the presence of Listeria monocytogenes in two lots of product. Maytag Dairy Farms has voluntarily suspended production and distribution while the company collaborates with the Food and Drug Administration and the State of Iowa to determine the cause of the problem. Consumers who have purchased these products are urged to discard them immediately and not consume them.

"We apologize for any temporary inconvenience or concern that our voluntary recall is causing our customers and the families who have enjoyed our products for generations," the release from the dairy farm states.

Listeria is a bacteria that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.

Dustin Vande Hoef, a spokesman for the Iowa Department of Agriculture, said all of the recalls announced recently by Maytag have been voluntary.

"We announced the first two on their behalf, but they choose to announce the most recent recall," he said. "The Department of Agriculture and the FDA continue to be in communications with Maytag regarding the situation. We are not aware of any additional positive tests beyond the lots we announced the recall of last month."

Contact Jason W. Brooks at 641-792-3121 ext. 6532 or jbrooks@newtondailynews.com