California cheesemaker linked to deadly listeria outbreak ordered to shut down

A California cheese and dairy company has been ordered to cease production in the wake of a years-long listeria outbreak that killed two people and sickened dozens more, the U.S. Department of Justice announced on Wednesday. 

Rizo-López Foods and its owners have discontinued all operations related to the preparing and processing of food, according to an injunction approved on Tuesday by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District.

Evidence that surfaced earlier in the year linked products made by Modesto-based Rizo-López to the outbreak first detected more than a decade ago, in June of 2014, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At least 26 people in 11 states were stricken in the outbreak, with 23 hospitalized as a result, including two fatalities, said the agency.

One person died in California in 2017, and another fatality occurred in Texas in 2020, the agency stated. The CDC investigated the outbreak in 2017 and 2021, but did not have enough information to identify a specific brand.

The CDC and Food and Drug Administration reopened an investigation in January after Hawaii officials detected listeria in a sample of Rizo Brothers Aged Cotija. That prompted a limited recall, which in February was expanded to include more than 60 products sold nationwide.

“The Justice Department and FDA will continue to work closely on enforcement actions against food manufacturers who fail to meet their obligations and put the health of their customers at risk,” Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, stated in a news release.

Listeria is most likely to affect pregnant people and newborns, people 65 and older, and those with weakened immune systems, according to the CDC. Infection symptoms typically start within two weeks of eating contaminated food and can include fever, muscle aches, nausea, tiredness, vomiting and diarrhea. More serious cases may also include headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions.