1,400 POUNDS of cheese sold in New York may be contaminated with deadly listeria bug linked to miscarriages and stillbirths, FDA warns

More than 1,400 pounds of cheese sold at farmer’s markets across New York state is being recalled over fears it could be contaminated with listeria.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued the alert, saying tests had revealed the bacteria — which can cause miscarriages and stillbirths — lurking in cheese from Cooperstown Cheese Company.

The cheeses had been sold over the last two months at the markets, they said and were also available in some restaurants and retail stores.

Americans are being urged to throw away affected products immediately or to return them to sellers for a full refund.

Eleven types of cheese sold by the company are affected. Pictured above are the labels displayed on each cheese, which is wrapped in cheese paper or cellophane

Listeria is a bacteria that can cause illness in healthy adults, including a headache, stiffness, nausea and diarrhea when ingested.

It is particularly dangerous for pregnant women, with an infection potentially leading to miscarriages or stillbirths.

The FDA said the cheese contamination was picked up during routine testing of the product.

It was not clear how listeria had got into the cheese, but in previous cases, this has been linked to manufacturers using contaminated cow’s milk. The milk may be contaminated if it is accidentally mixed with cow feces.

The cheese had been sold wrapped in cheese paper or plastic, the FDA said. 

They also carried stickers describing the type of cheese that had been packaged.

A total of eleven cheeses are affected. These are: Jersey Girl, Toma Celena, SK, Jersey Gold, Marielle, Jersey Girl with garlic/rosemary, Jersey Girl spring onion, Bobby’s got the Blues, Toma Torino, Jersey Gold with garlic, and Abbie.

The FDA said they had a shelf life of roughly two weeks from purchase, depending on how they were stored.

The company, based in Milford, upstate New York, has ceased production while the FDA investigates the source of the contamination.

No illnesses have been reported to date.

It comes after frozen fruit was pulled from the shelves of nationwide stores last year over contamination with the bacteria.

The FDA announced the recall, saying it was linked to pineapple that had been contaminated.